The Aftermath, Book III: disTORtioN
by BolzanTheTwilightGuardian
Summary: Even after malefor's demise, troubles are still arising for Avalar. It has even spread to Gran Pulse and 2 champions were selected from each world to protect the two worlds through "The Distortion". Questions arise in the champions and their families...
1. Chapter 1: The Two Champions

**Wassup, people? Patience never really suited me so, here's the first chapter!**

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><p>Bolzan strolled through the forests of Avalar, savoring the feeling of the warm sun's rays stroking his scales as they peeked through the leaves playfully. A gentle breeze wafted through the forest, rustling the autumnal leaves that still remained on the trees, a dance of orange and red.<p>

It had been a month after Malefor's demise and things really seemed to be settling down. Miraculously, Warfang was still standing after the attacks, albeit badly damaged. Up till now, they were still rebuilding the city with the Guardians heading the recovery efforts.

The Cheetah Village was almost completely untouched, owing to the valiant efforts of the Cheetah warriors. Now, many Cheetahs were helping out with the rebuilding of Warfang. The village was a fun place to be in now, according to Spyro and Cynder's kids.

They'd shown no signs of distress whatsoever and were still as fun to be around as ever. Spyro and Cynder had also reconciled, now living the life of peace they had always wished for.

_Peace, __at __last__…_ Bolzan thought to himself as he walked deeper into the forest, letting his heart lead the way. He had recovered from his wounds completely and was now living happily with Spyro and Cynder as always.

After a while, the trees thinned and a cave loomed a short distance ahead, jaws agape as it beckoned to Bolzan to enter its maw.

For some reason, Bolzan complied and walked ever deeper into the caves, making his way through the absolute darkness that his night vision could not remedy. Not once doubting his route, Bolzan sauntered ever deeper into the dark abyss until he came upon a wall.

Without another thought, ancient words rattled off his tongue and the wall reacted, runes glowing ominously.

He stopped abruptly and a monster stepped out of the, now open, gate.

Without a second thought, Bolzan disposed of it easily with a blast of light, incinerating the monster where it stood.

Snapping out of his trance, Bolzan looked around his surroundings, confused how he'd gotten into this cave system.

A familiar voice beckoned to him and Bolzan walked deeper into the abyss, allowing the arms of darkness to embrace him, pulling him deeper into the shadowy warmth.

In an instant, Bolzan found himself in a barren wasteland, absolutely disoriented and confused. The gates closed behind him with a mighty crash and, no matter how much Bolzan pushed or attacked it, it wouldn't budge.

"Damn… What the hell just happened?" Seeing that there was no way back, Bolzan shrugged and pressed on into the war-torn world. Subconsciously, Bolzan was making his way towards the ruins on the distance, led by the beckoning voice.

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><p>"Lightning! Where're you going?" Lightning turned at the sound of her sister's voice and she smiled.<p>

"I'm going out for a walk. Tell Snow he'd better not start dinner before I'm back again or I'll _really_ kill him." Lightning replied humorously.

"Alright. Come back soon, 'kay?" With that, Lightning turned and left New Oerba out into the wilderness that was the Archyle Steppe.

It had been a month after Cocoon had fallen, thanks to Fang and Vanille who had sealed the collapsing Cocoon in crystal to save its inhabitants.

_Fang__… __Vanille__… __I __hope __you__'__re __still __alright._ Up till now, Lightning still hadn't completely gotten over Fang and Vanille's sacrifice and she was certain that none of her friends had gotten over it as well.

She saddled a chocobo and was soon zipping across the steppe, running past the packs of Gorgonopsids and the lumbering Long Guis, avoiding the Goblins and Wyverns as she made her way to the Mah'habara.

"Alright, stay here and wait, alright?" She dismounted and left the chocobo waiting outside the entrance to the Mah'habara.

She liked coming here to train, and refine her fighting skills. Anyway, it helped take her mind off the rebuilding efforts.

After the fall of Cocoon, the inhabitants had begun rebuilding their lives on Gran Pulse, with many colonies forming throughout the steppe with a few in the highlands and the Yaschas Massif.

Although these weren't exactly sprawling cities, they served as homes for those who had lost theirs.

Right now, Lightning was living in the town of New Oerba, amongst the most developed cities in the new world. It was built on the original Oerba, Fang and Vanille's hometown, as a tribute to their sacrifice.

There weren't any towns in the Mah'habara that she knew about and this made it a prime spot to train. Yet, when she entered, she walked down a path she had never been down before, leading into a deep, nigh inaccessible part of the Mah'habara.

She sidestepped the monster hordes, taking out those she was unable to avoid as she made her way down the dimly-lit earthen corridor.

As she made her way deeper into the Mah'habara, she eventually came across a massive white gate sealing off further access.

Tracing the symbols that adorned the circular structure, ancient words rolled off her tongue as the door shone brightly and the gate opened slowly, revealing a shadowy oblivion beyond.

A goliath stepped out of the darkness and bore down on Lightning, roaring angrily. Even without her l'cie powers, Lightning was still a force to be reckoned with and, several gunshots and sword slashes later, the monster lay dead at her feet.

She turned towards the abyss and something called out to her to enter the shadows, to relax in its warm embrace.

She walked in and was instantly pulled into the shadows, moving through the midnight-black tunnel.

She exited into a war-torn landscape, devoid of any life as the darkness that had enveloped her vanished, leaving her standing there, dazed.

She snapped out of her daze and looked around to ascertain there wasn't anyone here. When there wasn't any movement, sans the swirling of grey dust borne by the near-dead winds that crept across the landscape.

"Where am I?" Lightning mused to herself, heading out into the barren world, gunblade drawn.

The ruins in the distance seemed to be a decent place to start looking for signs of life and she headed towards it cautiously but steadily, aware of the small indentations in the dust, evidently made by a certain four-legged beast that were headed towards the ruins as well.


	2. Chapter 2: First Impressions

"Hey, Spyro, did you see Bolzan lately?" Cynder asked as Spyro romped around the field with Ferno and Arashi. Cynder was resting beneath the shade of an oak tree, its flame of leaves providing ample shade from the midday sun. Beside her, Neve was noshing on a turkey leg as Noctis lay on Cynder's belly, relaxing in the comfortable sunlight.

"Hm? Bolzan? No, I haven't seen him lately... C'mere, you!" Spyro had caught up with Arashi and was mock-wrestling her playfully to the ground while Ferno, laughing happily, piled on top of them.

"Yeah, where IS he?" Neve looked up from her lunch as Spyro came under the tree with Ferno and Arashi.

"Mmnnnn…" Noctis rolled over and lazily opened his eyes.

"Should we go and find him?" Spyro asked, realizing that none of them had seen him for the past month.

"Maybe we should ask at the temple first, he could be there for some business." Cynder replied casually as she passed each of them some food.

"Yeah, maybe later." Spyro lay down under the shade with his family, unaware of the peril that would strike Avalar soon…

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><p>"Light-ning!" Serah shouted loudly as she and Snow walked through the Mah'habara, still wondering where her sister was a month after Lightning's sudden disappearance.<p>

"Come on out, Light! Are you still here?" Snow added loudly to Serah's words.

"Of course she is! Her chocobo was outside the Mah'habara, still waiting for her!" Serah reminded her fiancée irritably.

"Whoa, calm down, Serah! I'm just trying to help…" Snow replied dejectedly.

Serah sighed and continued walking down the earthen corridors of the Mah'habara, still searching for her missing sister.

Ever since Lightning had disappeared a month ago, she hadn't stopped searching for her. Having asked around in the neighboring cities and villages, she got a hint that Lightning was last seen heading towards the Mah'habara, which explained why she was here with Snow.

Steadying her long bow, Fallen Wing, she fired off another series of flares into the dark caverns up ahead.

Behind her, Snow couldn't help but admire his future wife's tenacity as he followed her deeper into the caves. Clearly he'd made the right choice.

"The perfect combination of looks and guts…" Snow whispered to himself dreamily.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing!" He hastily added as a slight tremor rocked the cavern, far too faint to be of any consequence at the moment.

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><p>An armored knight in dragonesque armor walked calmly out of the dilapidated ruins, facing down the beasts that surged forth from the wastelands up ahead. With a blade in each paw and a veritable armory hovering around his body protectively, he strode out of the gateless entrance to the ruins.<p>

Next to him, a woman with pink hair stepped out as well, wielding a device that was half-sword, half-gun. Transitioning from gun to blade seamlessly in a burst of black petals and white feathers, she walked up next to the dragon warrior with his armory of weapons, his twin-colored armor glinting in the perpetually weak sunlight.

Behind them, a mechanical warrior clad in red, a pair of ice machines shaped like beautiful ladies, a massive wall-like armored machine warrior and a god-like figure with a double-sided sword, both blades curved in a question-mark, followed.

The godly figure walked calmly towards the woman, transitioning into a majestic mechanical steed in the blink of an eye with the blades in its mouth.

She patted the beast on the head and leapt onto its back, accepting the blade it had offered to her.

"Thank you, Odin. Ready to go, Bolzan?" She turned to the armor-clad warrior, who turned and flashed a toothy grin, revealing a row of dragon fangs.

"Of course, I was waiting for you!"

They turned towards the oncoming horde, now closer than ever, and sprinted off into battle.

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><p>A month ago, Bolzan and Lightning had been brought to a deserted and dead landscape. Bolzan had arrived first and headed towards the ruins in the distance and, when Lightning arrived a short while later, she was naturally compelled to follow the tracks she saw before her, the only sign of life in the otherwise barren landscape.<p>

When she got to the ruins, the first thing she saw was a young dragon, ambling around aimlessly.

Believing it to be a hostile force, she charged in, gunblade in hand.

A quick scuffle took place, destroying most of the entrance to the ruins before a larger, purplish dragon stepped out of the door beyond and eyed them angrily, silencing them like a pair of misbehaving children.

He had led them deeper into the ruins, explaining the reason as to why the two of them were here.

"We are at war here, in the world between worlds, The Betwixt. Both of you have been chosen as Champions from your respective worlds…" He sighed when Bolzan and Lightning eyed each other angrily, both covered in scratches and cuts.

"As I was saying, I'm Lazarus…"

"I already know that." Bolzan grumbled, unwilling to fight with the woman who had attacked him on sight.

"But I don't, you idiot." She snapped back coldly to the beast and they were about to begin bickering again when they hit their heads on a low-lying piece of rock.

"Ow!" They cried out in unison, rubbing their heads. Lazarus couldn't help but snigger at this sight.

"Anyway, there're a few more people both of you will have to meet before you can fight. Come with me." They continued down the path in relative silence until it opened up into a chamber where 3 figures were waiting for them.

"Ignitus!" Bolzan shouted, recognizing the red dragon that stood before him, running up and nuzzling him fondly in the chest.

"So, who're you?" Lightning asked the 2 other being in the room. They seemed very familiar to her…

"Hello, Lightning, I am Bahamut and this is…" The many-handed being ran forwards and lifted Lightning in a hug.

"Lightning! I missed you so much!" That accent struck a chord with her and she realized who it was.

"Vanille!" She exclaimed in surprise as the eidolon set her down.

"Yep!" Even through the menacing exterior, that same bubbly personality shone through, instantly recognizable as Vanille's.

"I guess you know who I REALLY am, now. Good to see you again Lightning!" The mechanical dragon extended a hand in a friendly gesture and Lightning shook it, careful not to punch holes in her palm from the razor-sharp claws.

"Nice to see you too, Fang!" Lightning replied happily; glad to see her two friends once again, even if they were in their eidolons.

"So, you know each other?" Bolzan asked playfully, earning him an angry glance from Lightning.

"I guess you're not the best of friends yet, huh?" Vanille remarked cheekily.

"No…" Lightning turned to the two other dragons and, with a quick nod of the head, introduced herself to them as Bolzan did the same with Vanille and Fang.

"Well, now that we've met, both of you have to be prepared if you want to protect your worlds…" Ignitus led Bolzan down one hallway while Fang and Vanille led Lightning down the other one.

Lazarus, now alone in the chamber, closed his eyes and took a quick look around the ruins. It seemed fairly clear with no sign of any hostile forces anywhere. However, he had noticed a disturbing energy growing in the distance.

"They're coming again…" Lazarus muttered, opening his eyes slowly before following Ignitus into the hallway.

"Bolzan…" Ignitus began, rifling through the books before stopping on one of them.

"Ah! There it is!" He pulled out a black book with Bolzan's name written in large cursive font over the front.

"What?" Bolzan tried to sneak a peek of the interesting book that Ignitus had taken from the monstrous bookshelf that covered the entire wall.

"My eyes only, Little One. Calm yourself down." Bolzan didn't really like it when someone called him something that implied he was still merely a child and he sat back down, sulking.

"I see… Okay, then, you'll be alright as a Champion." Ignitus slammed the book shut, jolting Bolzan from his comfortable nap on the floor.

"Wha…?" He blinked sleepily as Ignitus walked over to help him up, suddenly massive.

Bolzan stood up groggily and, with a little bit of effort, took a few toddling steps forwards.

Wait… TODDLING?

"Why the hell am I like this?" Bolzan shouted angrily, looking down at his now infantile body.

"I suppose that'll be because of me…" Lazarus' stepped out from behind the hourglass with a bag of stones slung around his neck.

"How'd you even do this?" Bolzan tried to walk over to Lazarus to give him a piece of his mind before falling flat on the floor after 5 shaky steps.

"Only I should be able to do this to myself!" He grunted angrily, rolling belly-up on the floor, eyeing Lazarus angrily.

"Sorry about that; it was the only way to let you assimilate with such a large amount of Lazarite. This bag used to be full to the brim!" Lazarus plunked the near empty bag onto the ground right in front of Bolzan. The bag was absolutely gigantic in Bolzan's juvenile eyes and, frankly, it didn't bring back many good memories…

"There, there, no need to cry now…" He hadn't even realized he was crying as Lazarus picked him up. Bolzan furiously wiped away the tears as he frowned angrily at Lazarus through bloodshot eyes.

"Whatever, don't ever do that again, you hear me?" Bolzan was thoroughly surprised when a blade manifested itself in his paw without any thought as he gestured menacingly at Lazarus, only managing to look absolutely adorable, given his childish features.

"What the…" He eyed the blade suspiciously as Lazarus closed his eyes and smiled.

"Looks like it worked fine, Bolzan." He opened his eyes and set Bolzan back down on the floor where he proceeded to try and stand up once again.

"If you can't stand up, you won't be able to…"

"I KNOW." Bolzan growled.

Lazarus grinned at Ignitus, who sighed and picked up Bolzan.

"Don't worry; like always, it's not permanent, remember?" Ignitus patted the angry hatchling in an effort to soothe his anger.

"God, I hope Lightning doesn't see me like… Oh crap." He blushed and buried himself into Ignitus' embrace when he caught sight of Lightning, sniggering at the entrance to the study.

"GO. AWAY." Bolzan growled; his voice muffled from his snout being buried in Ignitus' arms.

"No." Lightning smiled and crossed her arms, leaning on the entrance to show she wasn't about to leave anytime soon.

"So, he's all kitted out?" Lightning gestured to the extremely embarrassed Bolzan and Lazarus nodded.

"I take it you're ready as well?" Lazarus replied as Ignitus came over with Bolzan in tow.

"Bolzan? You can look up now." Bolzan opened one eye slowly and shut it again when he saw Lightning, hiding his blushing face in Ignitus' chest once again.

Watching Bolzan's juvenile antics, Lightning couldn't help but warm up to him, especially after what Fang had told her. She placed a hand on her heart and sighed.

"I thought I was already free… Looks like it's not over yet…" She mumbled before teasing Bolzan until he was at the point of tears.

Seeing that she'd nearly made him cry, Lightning strolled over and stroked his head warmly.

"Sorry, kid…"

Bolzan looked up for the first time and met her eye to eye, still blushing a lot with small tears pricking at the edge of his eyes.

"It's alright… We're stuck here so, might as well be friendly about it…" Bolzan sniffled and held out a paw to Lightning.

"Right. Sorry I attacked you just now." She held out a hand and Bolzan grasped a finger, his small paw unable to grasp her entire hand.

"Don't worry, I'll be alright!" He sneezed and rubbed his snout with the back of his paw.

"Anyway, what's your new skill?"


	3. Chapter 3: A True L'cie

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><p>"Why didn't either of you try to talk to any of us or something? We really missed you, you know." Lightning asked the two eidolons that flanked her side.<p>

"Well, it's complicated but all you need to know is that we did try, it just didn't work out the way we though it would…" Bahamut, which was what Fang had told Lightning to call her, seemed to blush, though it could well have been a growl. It was pretty hard to read the facial expressions of a mechanical dragon.

"So, what happened?" Lightning pursued, sensing that it had something to do with her being here.

"It weakened the fabric of reality in Gran Pulse, allowing outside influences to enter and mess up the world." Hecaton, Vanille's eidolon form, explained. Once again, it was near impossible to read it's mechanical face, owing to the lack of features on what Lightning presumed was the head.

"And that's why I'm here?" Lightning finished, understanding the current situation perfectly with Hecaton's explanation along with some cold, hard logic.

Bahamut nodded just as they reached another room, much like the one they had just left except for one massive difference.

The presence of the fal'cie Anima at the far end of the room.

"What the hell is THAT thing doing here?" Lightning wanted nothing to do with that fal'cie, not after what it had done to her and her friends. Though her l'cie brand was gone, she was still seen as some sort of a monster; an old prisoner of the nemesis of Cocoon.

Yet, for some reason, they didn't seem to hate any of her friends and Snow had the perfect reason for that.

"Loosen up a little!" He had said, nonchalantly like it was something that easy to do.

This earned him a beating and a short lecture by Lightning yet, she knew he was right.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Fang was pulling her towards Anima. When she snapped to her senses, she was already right in front of the gigantic fal'cie's "arms".

She broke free of Fang's grip and drew her gunblade, falling into a battle-ready posture as she eyed Fang suspiciously.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked warily as Fang watched her in disbelief.

"Trust me; you'll need to become a l'cie again if you're going to fight for us." Bahamut sighed and looked at the massive fal'cie that stood behind her.

It was glowing softly, completely motionless as the generators spun slowly, as if awaiting some sort of input.

"Come on, Lightning, we know how hard it is to be a l'cie. We were l'cie once, y'know!" Hecaton (Vanille? Whatever.) crossed its many arms impatiently.

"So? That doesn't mean I have to become a l'cie again and I am not, I repeat, NOT going to fight with that thing that attacked me!" Lightning sheathed her gunblade and calmed down ever so slightly, walking over to the steps and sitting down heavily.

"… Aren't you curious why we're like this?" Fang began, walking over to Lightning.

"Good point. I'll ask right now, then: Why are you like this." Lightning said slowly.

Fang was just about to speak when Vanille butted in rudely.

"It's because we're fal'cie!" Vanille shrank back when Fang watched her with a pair of piercing eyes, which softened after a while.

"Wait, wait, wait… You're FAL'CIE?" Lightning exclaimed, shocked that her friends were, well, gods, for lack of a better words.

"Yeah, pretty shocking, huh? That's how we felt too, when we were told by The Maker." Lightning turned away coldly, remembering that she'd gone to all that trouble to prevent its resurrection.

"How do you know it was The Maker?" Lightning asked them and they shrugged in unison.

"I have no idea whether it was The Maker. All we know is that we woke up in our eidolons, met up with Lazarus and Ignitus, and then you came." Fang sighed, sending a small plume of purple flame from her mouth.

"So, when we were told that there was some kind of danger about to hit Gran Pulse, of course we had to take action. That's why we chose you to help protect Gran Pulse." Now it was Vanille's turn to move over to Anima and stroke it. The lights pulsed slightly, as if it was enjoying the touch of another fal'cie.

"So, does this mean that all of the fal'cie used to be eidolons after their masters died?" Lightning added, slowly getting up and moving to the middle of the room.

Fang nodded and got up as well.

"Maybe we'll hold off turning you into a l'cie for a while. First, why don't you want to fight with Bolzan?" Fang asked Lightning, coiling herself around Lightning's legs. She let her do it as she thought of a reply.

After a long while, Lightning sighed and replied softly.

"I'm not really sure. I'm not really mad at him for attacking me; after all, I started it. I guess it's because I'm just not the trusting type…" Fang uncoiled her dragon body from Lightning and watched Lightning with a pair of mechanical, reptilian eyes.

"Yeah, you didn't seem to trust me, either, when we first met." Fang got up and looked at Anima, then Lightning.

"Maybe there's something you should know about l'cie…" Fang gestured to Vanille, who came over. She whispered something to Vanille and turned to leave.

"So, fang told me I should tell you the real meaning behind becoming a l'cie, huh?" She dragged Lightning over to Anima, lifting her friend's hand and placing it on Anima's mechanical exterior.

"Well, when you don't want to become a l'cie, you can't unlock its full potential, get it?" When she realized that Lightning didn't understand, she continued in her explanation.

"There were only a few people who really WANTED to become l'cie. Back then, they were the heroes of our village thanks to their strength: One of them could've taken down a Long Gui without breaking a sweat!" Lightning was only half-listening, feeling something she hadn't felt in a fal'cie before as she moved her hand across Anima's metallic skin.

"You feel it, don't you? That's what a fal'cie really feels like, when it isn't all angry and stuff." It felt comforting, like petting a menacing animal, only to find that it was friendly. At least, that was how Lightning felt when she stroked Anima for the first time.

Admittedly, it could have just killed her for what she and her friends did when it first awoken, yet it didn't.

"Anima's one of the few fal'cie that is actually really friendly, if you don't make him; yes, it's a him, angry. The other two are right here!" She gestured vaguely to herself and the doorway fang had just exited through.

"Alright, so I become some kind of ultimate l'cie. So what? I'm still not going to fight with Bolzan. I don't trust him enough yet…" She took her hand off Anima and stood in front of it, hands outstretched.

"Well, what're you waiting for? Turn me into a l'cie, then." The lights that adorned Anima flashed steadily and a tendril of energy, white instead of blue like it had been when she had first become a l'cie, shot out and struck her on the chest, right where her old l'cie brand had been. This time, though, it didn't hurt. Rather, it felt warm and tingly as the brand burned itself onto her skin.

Simultaneously, her weapon flashed brilliantly, transforming into its newer form as its owner accepted her new curse.

When it was over, a shining l'cie brand shone above Lightning's heart, proof that she was one of the accursed once again.

"So, it begins again…" She looked at her l'cie brand, feeling the energy pulse through her body to the tips of her fingers. She raised a hand in front of her face and it burst into flames, proof of her l'cie heritage once again.

This time, however, it felt different. She felt much more powerful, much stronger than she had been back then.

"Feels different, doesn't it?" Vanille then proceeded to explain that she was now able to access all six roles at once, or one at a time, if necessary. They were also much more powerful, as evidenced when she performed a Blitz and her new weapon flashed brightly, tripling in length with black and white accents running from the hilt to the tip of the magical blade.

She fired off a fireball, much larger than any she had ever seen. The lightning that she conjured far exceeded the size and strength of her original Thundaga. Three massive twisters spawned when she used Aeroga, which was something new for her.

She could even use Faith and Bravery like a synergist as well as Fog or Pain like a saboteur. It felt amazing.

Further more, Vanille said that she could now summon any eidolon she knew of. Such was the power of a True L'cie, no longer goal-driven nor pushed by fate. Saviors of Gran Pulse and trustful of others, something Lightning was failing at.

However, Vanille warned, there was one drawback. Though she had no more goals, Lightning would be bound to this land for as long as the brand was on her skin, unable to return to her family.

When Lightning threatened to blow Vanille's arms off, Vanille added hastily that she'd return her to normal after this fiasco was over.

"You mean IF it ever ends." Lightning had a hunch that it wouldn't end easily, that this conflict would go on until she dropped dead.

_Heh. __Déjà __vu__…_ It was weird but she felt like this had happened once before…

Lightning sighed and complied. If she was going to protect Gran Pulse, she'd better do a good job of it. Besides, there was no way she'd let that dragon take away all of the glory.

"Oh, don't be so hard on Bolzan. He's had a pretty rough life, y'know." As if she'd read Lightning's mind, Fang returned and glanced at the ruined room.

"Oh, really? How hard could it have been?" Lightning asked unhappily, unwilling to let some kind of sob story win her over.

Instead of replying, Fang shouted some sort of command to Anima, who complied with a mechanical grunt and shot a beam of light at Lightning.

In a flash, she was locked in a room, chained to the ground, sobbing and begging the unknown personnel to stop the torture in a voice not her own. Her wings rustled as they beat her unconscious and when she woke up, she was strapped to a metal table, scared out of her wits as tubes were inserted into her scaled arms.

Suddenly, she felt an uncontrollable rage and, when she came to, blood was literally everywhere, splashed on the walls and ground as the corpse of an unknown being lay before her feet, windpipe torn out savagely. She spat out something soft and bloody, and tube-like…

When the flashback was over, Lightning was left reeling, absolutely nauseous from the bloody carnage she'd seen. There was no way it could've been real. An illusion, surely? Yet, somehow, something told her it had really happened once, to someone else.

"Did that happen… to Bolzan?" She asked warily.

"When he was young, yes. We couldn't believe it ourselves when Ignitus showed us this recollection… So, do you believe us now?" Lightning was too sickened to reply and could only nod.

"Don't worry; he's already turned over a new leaf, according to Ignitus and Lazarus. You should make nice with him; he'll be your partner for as long as this war takes." Lightning remained silent, as she stood up, unaware that she had sat down.

"We'll see." With that, Lightning left the room after she bade her friends' farewell and she walked off towards the room where Bolzan had entered.

She was totally taken aback when she saw an adorably shy baby dragon cradled in Ignitus' non-metal arm.

"GO. AWAY." It squeaked, burying it's snout into Ignitus' chest.

"No." She replied defiantly, crossing her arms and leaning on the doorway.

She then proceeded to tease him playfully, stopping when she saw tears form at the corner of his eye, at least, the one that wasn't covered in an eye patch, which was a dead giveaway that it was Bolzan.

_Maybe __I__'__ll __enjoy __fighting __with __him. __I __can__'__t __believe __he __killed __so __many __people __back __then__… __Also, __I __can__'__t __believe __I__'__m __saying __this __but, __I __think __I__'__m __warming __up __to __him._ She thought to herself as she apologised to Bolzan.

"Alright, then, are both of you ready to train with your new abilities?" Lazarus said after Lightning had shown what she could do.

"Can't we wait for awhile?" Bolzan whined, yawning sleepily.

"Yeah, maybe you should let him rest for a while. He looks so _weak_." Her light-hearted emphasis on the word "weak" solicited an amused snort from Bolzan.

"Hey! I've killed more people than you would know, okay? I'm NOT weak!" Bolzan replied indignantly, half-asleep.

_Don__'__t __I __know __that__… _Lightning sighed and bade Bolzan goodnight before leaving the room.

As she sat atop the only spire that remained on the ruins, she thought of her friends and family back in Gran Pulse.

As she was lost in her thoughts, something nudged her side and remained there. She looked down to find Bolzan lying down, belly-up on her arm, which was supporting her on the spire.

She patted his head and let him continue his nap. Bolzan rolled over and hiccupped softly, snuggling closer to her arm.

"I guess you're my family for now. Might as well get comfortable about it..." She lay down beside Bolzan, still thinking about her family as she drifted off into sleep next to the hatchling.


	4. Chapter 4: Uncertainties

The next day, (actually, there weren't any real day/night cycles in The Betwixt; the sky just turns bright and dark at fixed intervals.) Bolzan was back to his teenaged self, ready to see what he could do now that he was overloaded on Lazarite. Like a caffeine rush, he thought as he called forth dozens of blades at once, only with a delayed reaction.

Lightning was watching his progress from a safe distance, owing to the alarming velocities the swords and weapons were attaining.

"Interesting." She muttered before leaping off into the courtyard, sending the cream-coloured dust swirling as she landed.

She'd gotten up way before Bolzan and had already begun with her own practice, taking it very seriously, unlike the slightly aloof Bolzan and his near suicidal way of training.

"the day he slices himself to ribbons is the day I'll sleep peacefully…" She was referring to Bolzan's constant fidgeting in the middle of the night, occasionally kicking her in the hip with his little paws.

Now that he wasn't a hatchling anymore, he wasn't exactly as forthcoming as earlier, much to Lightning's pleasure. She wasn't used to this amount of contact from a stranger, even if she'd accepted him.

"Oh well, back to training, then…" With that thought banished to the back of her mind, she continued her drills and summoning practices, much to Fang's amusement.

"Wow. She's really taking it seriously, isn't she?" She turned to Vanille, who was lounging lazily on a seat nearby.

"And can't you sit more elegantly, Vanille?" Vanille giggled and sat up straighter.

"So, will Light be alright?" She asked Fang, who had turned to watch Lightning's training, juxtaposing it with Bolzan's chaotic regime.

"I suppose she will."

After a long pause, Vanille spoke her mind.

"Fang? Why are we here anyway?"

Fang sighed and scratched the back of her skull with a claw.

"… I have no idea." Fang groaned and stretched her arms and wings.

"Could Lazarus have something to do with it?" Vanille suggested hopefully.

Back in Gran Pulse when they were still living in Oerba, their village elder had told them a story about the fal'cie.

"Long, long ago." he had begun in front of a campfire as the crackling flames lit up his wizened face covered in wrinkles, the l'cie brand on his shoulder illuminated in the flickering light. "The fal'cie used to be l'cie just like you and I; only they were the most powerful ones in existence."

"When they died, whether they fulfilled their focus or not, they didn't turn to crystals or cie'th like most. Instead, all of them had eidolons. One of them, if my memory serves me right, was Ragna Sei Storm, nicknamed "The Tempest". His eidolon had been the wind god we know now, Dahaka."

"His soul lives on as a fal'cie; only a few have been able to do so and, of course, it's everybody's dream to be immortalized as gods; and he had achieved that goal along with a few others throughout the millennia." At that moment, he had turned to Fang and Vanille for the briefest of moments before continuing his story.

"I can't really remember what he said after that." Vanille recalled slowly. "What I do remember was that the fal'cie used to be l'cie that had performed great deeds. If we're fal'cie, that means we did something great by saving Cocoon but…"

"Why aren't we back at Gran Pulse as fal'cie? Yeah, I've been thinking about it too." Fang finished.

"That means someone did something to stop us from going back…" Vanille concluded ominously just as Lazarus stepped in.

"Were you talking about me?" He asked innocuously, yet, there was a hard edge to his voice.

"No, we weren't." Fang replied too quickly. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice.

"Alright, then. They seem to be doing alright." He gestured to the window where there was a clear view of both their trainings.

"Yeah…" Vanille replied, watching Lazarus suspiciously as he turned to leave.

"I'm not sure I trust him that much." Vanille whispered to Fang.

"Yeah, me neither…"

Outside, Lazarus was listening in on their conversation silently...

A month later, they were ready, just as the first wave of enemies arrived in their millions, right outside the ruins.

Bolzan stepped out, clad in his Lazarite armor with dozens of swords, spears, axes and scythes hovering around him as he wielded a blade he'd favored over the others. It was a katana, Black Feather. It lay sheathed in its ebony-black sheath, embedded with gold swirls.

It clacked softly as he walked, armory hovering behind him like faithful dogs guarding their master.

Next to him, Lightning was clad in her own armor, one that had been part of the trade-off for being a true l'cie. It was mainly white with black highlights. It also didn't cover her entire body, only covering her upper body. It had a pair of black, metallic wings that were spread wide open like a fallen angel.

Her gunblade was now a brilliant white with a hand guard protecting her fingers. It had black accents across it's sleek metal surface as several eidolons followed her close behind. She couldn't summon fal'cie so, she had to make do with Odin, Styria and Nix, Brynhildr and Alexander, her friends' eidolons and her last connection to their world.

Odin, in his Gestalt mode, walked over to Lightning and handed her the Zantetsuken.

"Thanks, Odin. Ready to go, Bolzan?" Bolzan replied with a playful grin.

"Of course! I was waiting for you!"

As they dashed off into the fray, Ignitus stood atop the spire, watching the black mass seethe towards the ruins.

His wings rustled in the winds as his Lazarite paw whirred softly, metal cogs adjusting themselves to stabilize his body like muscles in a real paw.

"Watching the battle, Ignitus?" Lazarus' voice rang from beneath as the purple dragon ascended the steps to the top of the spire.

"Yes, though it seem fairly one-sided." Ignitus remarked casually as both champions tore through the ranks of the Darkness, clearing large swathes of enemies easily. Bolzan with his massive armory of weapons hovering above him, poised to smite his enemies, and Lightning with her small group of eidolons, ruthlessly efficient at destroying her opponents as she sprinted from enemy to enemy, firing off blasts of magic and swinging her gunblade in sharp, precise strikes with the occasional burst of gunfire.

"Ignitus, tell me… Have you wondered why you're here?" Lazarus asked Ignitus solemnly.

"…Not that much, I'm afraid. Normally, I don't get to see the outside of the study so, I' assuming that this is what it looked like. Why?" Ignitus replied mirthlessly.

Lazarus seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

"That's good. That's good. You don't have to ask more questions, then." With that, he left Ignitus, rather confused, on the top of the spire as he descended the stone staircase.

Back at the battlefield, Bolzan was in his disturbing trance-like state of mindless and unrelenting carnage, as Lightning had observed in the few moments she was able to spot him.

_I __guess __he__'__s __really __a __killer. __Look __at __those __eyes__…_They were looking in the distance, his unnatural left eye shone bright with crimson flames. Carrying the cold intent of a murderer about to decimate his victim, he tore through their ranks with various weapons, all used with the same amount of efficiency as the rest. He even had a blade in his jaws in addition to the dozens of weapons that were slashing in perfect unison.

_And __I __thought __I __was __intimidating._ She ducked to avoid a claw rake from a gargantuan monster before stabbing her gunblade into its ribs and firing, sending it flying into its comrades as more bore down on her. The Shiva sisters were nearby, freezing and crushing their foes with ease as Alexander, in his Gestalt mode, fired off volleys of magical missiles from the gates of the ruins where he had transformed. Brynhildr was slicing through dozens of enemies with a single sweep of her weapon, occasionally firing off blasts of differing elements whenever Lightning buffed the eidolon.

Odin was nearby, faithfully fighting alongside his master in perfect unison with her swords slashes, blocking attacks with his shield as Lightning fired blasts of lightning from the heavens.

Her spells were significantly augmented, allowing her to use them in addition to her usual gunblade attacks. She also found switching paradigms much easier now that she could use up to 3 at once.

She blasted a group with Slowga and, while they were slowed down, she performed multiple blitzes, each with a different element. Lightning, ice and fire rained from the blade and the skies, severely damaging and destroying massive hordes easily before switching to Medic and healing up a little.

Bolzan was nearby, wielding a blade, a spear and a crossbow at the same time. With his upgrade, every single one of his weapons had two different modes. The first was Light, which made the weapon specialize in decimating single enemies while the other, Shadow, was geared towards destroying groups.

As of now, his weapons, including the ones that were hovering, were in their Shadow form, emphasizing on speed and power while leaving defense for the wolves.

He spun in midair and the weapons followed, drawn by the winds that had suddenly burst forth from nowhere. His ability and command of the Dragonics, an ancient dragon language used for activating elements, had vastly improved to the point that he was able to use any elements without saying a word, merely requiring him to think about the words to activate it.

However, this power came at a price, namely to his sanity. He'd lost all contact with the outside world, existing in his own world of death and destruction. He hadn't been able to control this impulse regardless of the amount of training he'd put himself through until Lazarus told him that it required the user to want to protect someone with his life to break free of the shackles of bloodlust.

He had awoken more than once to find himself bearing down on Lightning unknowingly, leaving him guilt-stricken for the rest of the day.

_So, __I __guess __I __can__'__t __control __it __yet. __As __much __fun __as __it __is__… _Bolzan thought to himself as his body acted autonomously, _I __really __have __to __learn __to __control __it. __I __wonder __what __he __meant __by __the __need __to __protect __someone? __Isn__'__t __protecting __Avalar __and __Spyro__'__s __family __more __than __enough?_

…_Or __is __there __someone __I __haven__'__t __met __yet __that __I__'__ll __care __about __more __than __anything __else __in __the __world__…__?_

"One thing's for sure," he continued aloud, "it's definitely not Lightning!" This caught her attention for a moment and she shot him a venomous look.

_But __really__… __who __is __it?_

_Who am I missing?_


	5. Chapter 5: Faint Glimmers

It was nearly dusk when Spyro arrived at Warfang, since his kids were exhausted and there had to be someone to take care of them, which was Cynder's job, more or less.

Spyro braced himself before slowly making his way to the Temple, trying to remain inconspicuous.

Unfortunately, it was pretty hard to remain unnoticed, especially if you were the only purple dragon in existence.

And so, 5 steps through the gate, he was swarmed by his admirers, which he found extremely annoying, Spyro didn't really like being in the limelight. Sure, he'd saved the world, but all he wanted was to live a normal life with his family. Was that so hard to fulfill?

By the time he reached the Temple, he looked completely exhausted and had to slowly make his way up the steps. The good news was that most of the people living in Warfang knew the Temple was out of bounds, providing Spyro with the breathing space he so desperately needed.

"Wow, Spyro, you don't look too good…" His father, Baero, greeted him as Spyro half-walked, half-limped his way into the Temple, panting heavily.

"Gee, you think?"

As they made their way deeper into the Temple, Spyro began telling his father why he was here, after he'd caught his breath.

Baero listened intently and nodded when Spyro was finished.

"Interesting… So he disappeared a month ago?"

Spyro nodded in reply.

"That's around the same time Hikari felt some disturbance in the realm. Maybe you should talk to him…"

Along the way, he'd met his mother, Chrisil. Considering she used to be under Malefor's control, she did an admirable job as a parent, immediately guessing why Spyro was here. After a quick conversation, she left Spyro to his own devices.

"Hope you find him, son!" She shouted when he was nearly out of earshot.

"Thanks, mom!" He shouted in reply.

At the end of the corridor was a room into which no one was allowed entry except the Guardians and special guests.

This was Hikari's chamber and the little dragon was lying asleep on a soft, velvet pillow in the nursery/observatory themed room.

He half-opened his eyes lazily and yawned before flopping into an upright position.

_Hello, Spyro. What brings you here?_

"You know, it's kinda weird that you can only talk telepathically. Can't you talk normally?" This wasn't a tall order for most one-year old dragons; they would be able to speak in complete, if not naïve, sentences by that age but Hikari hadn't spoken a word since they found him, preferring to talk telepathically.

_If I say no, would you tell me why you're here?_

Spyro shrugged.

"Bolzan's gone missing and my dad told me you might have an idea what happened."

_Was it a month ago?_

"Yep."

Hikari hopped off his pillow and walked fairly steadily for a hatchling, something that compensated for his inability to speak.

He looked at Spyro with a pair of large, innocent (and mildly hypnotic) eyes before pulling Spyro's proportionately large paw towards the telescope-like apparatus at the far corner of the room.

_Maybe you should look at this picture I took about a month ago…_

Spyro peered into the eyepiece carefully as Hikari grabbed a half-finished bottle and continued drinking his milk.

The apparatus ran off Hikari's innately strong electrical impulse, which Volteer had sensed when they first met. Coupled with Hikari's ability to sense minute disturbances in almost anything, once again thanks to the electricity he was able to control, made him a perfect observer for the world around him, and he loved his job, considering he hadn't been able to experience the outside world since birth due to the slavery complex that Eratos had in place a long time ago.

Through the glass, Spyro slowly scanned the world, already set to view a month ago.

"It looks… uh… warped, I guess…" The world looked like a psychedelic swirl of colors to Spyro's eyes and, unable to comprehend what he was seeing, he turned from the eyepiece and looked at the extremely content hatchling slowly suckling the milk from his bottle.

"What does it actually mean?" Hikari looked at Spyro, bottle still in his jaws as he replied.

_It means that something happened after the Amethyst Moon was brought down. What ever it was, it messed up the world for the brief moment before settling down. Lately, I've also been seeing the same thing happen again…_

"And this may have something to do with Bolzan's disappearance?" Hikari nodded in reply before offering the bottle to Spyro.

_I suppose so. While you're out there, could you help me refill this? I'm a little hungry._

After passing the full bottle back to Hikari, Spyro was about to leave the temple from the main gate before pausing.

"Maybe I should find another way home…"

As he flew across the nighttime landscape of Warfang, Spyro pondered about what Hikari had just told him. What does he mean by something messing up the world?

Just as he was about to cross the walls of Warfang, he heard a loud crack from behind him, followed by the sound of something rising up out of the ground.

Without hesitation, he spun around and flew back.

* * *

><p>Serah and Snow were still wandering about the Mah'habara, looking for Lightning, when they stumbled across a massive room filled to the brim with tribal carvings and paintings on the walls, preserved by the dryness and lack of sunlight in the cave system.<p>

The cavern itself was circular in shape with a crude elevator, something like the one in Taejin's tower and it seemed to go on and on into the never-ending darkness.

"Whoa…" Snow ran his gloved hands across the walls, tracing the tribal designs that marred the walls.

"These painting must be thousands of years old…" Serah examined one of the paintings closely. The paint seemed to be made of some kind of black stone, liquefied and filled into sticks, as she described them.

"Uh, you mean they used pens…?" Serah blushed when Snow corrected her. She still had a mildly jaundiced view against the old inhabitants of Gran Pulse.

"Right, pens…" The more she looked at the paintings and carvings, the more they seemed to link into a story of some sort, like an epic saga.

"Hey, Serah! Check out this painting. It looks like a…" Snow's eyes widened when he took in the wings and reptilian head carved into the stone.

"Dragon…" Serah finished for him.

"There aren't any dragons in Gran Pulse!" Snow exclaimed. He wasn't wrong. The closest they had to dragons were the wyverns that populated the steppe.

"Maybe they went extinct millennia ago?" Serah offered helpfully as she took in the paintings one after another, trying her best to read the story they were portraying.

"Could be. I wonder if these mean anything…" He had also begun looking at the paintings that were lit up by the bioluminescent mushrooms and glowing rocks that dotted the circular cavern.

So far, the story seemed to make no sense whatsoever; it depicted people and "dragons" fighting side-by-side against something large and mysterious.

"Let's head down." Snow walked over to the rusty elevator, tinkering with the mechanisms which were rusted rigid.

"That doesn't look safe, Snow…" Serah reluctantly followed him onto the elevator.

"Relax! It'll be fine." He punched the controls once and they lit up. He smiled at Serah as the gates closed.

"See? Now we just lay back and…" The elevator lurched and plummeted like a stone, squeaking angrily on the stone as its rusty metal cogs scraped against the stone, sending sparks flying violently.

Serah screamed and hung on to Snow, who braced himself against the walls as the elevator continued falling.

It came to a halt abruptly and the gates opened as if nothing had happened. Shaking from shock, Snow and Serah exited the elevator, clinging onto the walls of the cave.

"S-See? It worked, didn't it?" Serah shot him an angry look before glancing upwards.

Amazingly, they had only descended one level.

"Feels like twenty…" Serah muttered under her breath, sweating heavily.

The paintings continued on this floor and they seemed to depict another chapter in whatever saga they were talking about.

By now, according to the paintings, the being had been sealed away but it had taken the dragons with it. It also left a message for the people of Gran Pulse. Though she wasn't terribly good at the Pulsian alphabet, she was at least able to read what they were writing.

"You… shall… rue this… day… Your warriors shall… be taken… by me…" The words were unreadable after that.

"Wonder what that means?" Snow was looking at the picture which depicted the dragons being taken away into another world through what seemed to be a portal in a cave system.

"Only one way to find out, I guess. All aboard the elevator of doom!"

Another harrying descent later, they were on the next floor. The paintings seemed much more recent, and carried a darker intent.

They depicted people being whisked away by an unseen force, their families grieving their loss. The first fal'cie was also spawned, according to the artwork of a massive mechanical beast. At the end of the cavern, a picture of the l'cie brand was carved into the walls.

"The first of the l'cie…" Snow remarked when he saw it, his hand subconsciously moving to where his l'cie brand had been.

On the next floor, it depicted the fall of Gran Pulse. It was a horribly bloody affair, with lots of red paint splashed here and there and what seemed to be Ragnarok attacking Cocoon.

"I wonder if this really is paint…" Serah shuddered as she looked at the walls and carvings.

The final floor seemed to be carved fairly recently; the paint wasn't faded at all and the carvings looked clean and untouched by time.

"Whoa…" They muttered in unison as they walked up to the middle of the room where a massive spire of crystal and rock stood proudly, casting cold blue beams across the cavern.

"What is that?"

Suddenly, Serah gasped and ran over to an as yet untouched part of the wall where words had begun to form, carved directly into the wall by an unseen hand.

**Is anyone there?**

**Is this getting through?**

**If it is and someone's reading,**

**I am a Champion of Gran Pulse.**

**I am the defender of Worlds.**

**WE are, Light.**

**Fine. WE are the defenders of Worlds.**

**Thank you.**

**Stop writing, Bolzan!**

**Fine.**

**Thanks.**

**There are traitors in our midst.**

**In the world we are in.**

**We might not make it back.**

**Don't miss us.**

Serah gasped when she read this and turned to Snow, who looked equally astounded.

"Light's alive…" Serah gasped.

"Who's Bolzan?" Snow added.

Without hesitation, they rode the elevator which, to their surprise, managed to head upwards and out of the deep cavern.

After they left, several more words began carving themselves into the wall, evidently written by another individual.

**Spyro?**

**Cynder?**

**I miss you…**

**I want to go home...**

**But I can't.**

**Not until we're done.**

**There's someone I want you to meet.**

**When I come back.**

**I found him in here.**

**In this forsaken land.**

**He'll be my last glimmer of hope.**

**To return home safely.**

**Wait for me, guys.**

**Don't give up hope.**

**It's all I have left.**

**He just yawned so; I guess I'll stop for awhile.**

* * *

><p><strong>Poor little guy…<strong>

**He's kinda like me.**

**Lost.**

**Alone.**

**Hunted.**

**Scared.**

**He needs a friend.**

**I'll be that friend.**

**And more.**

**Even if it kills me…**

**Wait, what am I saying?**

**I'll see all of you again.**

…**Right?**


	6. Chapter 6: The Graveyard

Bolzan was curled up on his bed, licking his wounds clean when Lightning came into the room.

"Bolzan? What are you doing?" She asked, purely for her amusement.

He didn't reply, knowing that she was just playing with him and continued licking the wounds that marred his body.

3 consecutive battles really drained him and Lightning, meaning he couldn't use Darkness or Light to heal. Without any bandages, he had to resort to slowly licking his cuts and puncture wounds, savouring the taste of the blood.

A long silence ensued with the only sounds being Bolzan's tongue as it rode over scales and flesh. Lightning reclined on her own bed, staring listlessly at the ceiling.

Finally, Bolzan broke the silence.

"There's something wrong about this place…" He had said, looking up from the laceration that marred his belly.

Lightning remained silent and continued her staring contest with the ceiling.

"… I'm not sure if you felt it but, every time we kill something, I feel this…" He mimicked the squeezing he felt in his heart by clutching his chest, regretting it when he realized, far too late, that there was a massive graze where he had placed his paw in. He yelped in pain and licked the wound frantically, whimpering.

"You too?" Lightning rose and walked to the doorway, looking both directions to check if there was anyone. Satisfied with the empty hallways, she turned to Bolzan, who was still nursing his wounds.

"Come on; let's find out what's going on." Lightning picked up her gunblade and slung it around her hip.

"Do we have to?" Bolzan whined, unwilling to go out in his current state. His pleas were blatantly denied by Lightning, who dragged him by his tail out of the room, making him yelp in pain as he clawed at the stone floor.

Moments later, they were walking across the vast expanses of the wastelands that formed The Betwixt, Lightning taking point with an extremely unhappy Bolzan tailing her.

"Just so you know; I do NOT want to do this…" Bolzan grumbled for the fifteenth time (Lightning was counting).

Instead of listening to Bolzan's whining, she focused on the landscape. Dead, blackened trees dotted the landscape, sparse and unforgiving. Though the "sun" was directly above their heads, it still felt as cold as night, making the world seem even more deserted. Massive mountains loomed in the distance, providing the only waypoint in the land. The white dirt rustled beneath their feet, leaving dusty tracks as they proceeded.

Though he was very disgruntled, Bolzan had contributed to the expedition somewhat. He'd pointed them in the general direction with his instincts, breaking the winds with his wings when they got rather strong, throwing up dust into their eyes.

Suddenly, as he was shielding them from the biting winds, Bolzan froze.

"Lightning… Did you hear that?" He whispered softly into Lightning's ear.

"No. Let's go." He hissed angrily when she replied nonchalantly. Of course you can't hear anything; he thought angrily as they made their way forward, you don't exactly have the best hearing! Couldn't she just trust the bloody dragon with the sharpest hearing?

"Lightning… I think we should stop for a moment…" The sounds had started again, emanating from the ground far too quietly for a human ear. A dragon, however, could pick it up perfectly.

"Stop being paranoid, Bolzan." She stopped as well and looked at him angrily. Bolzan flinched and nodded. She could be absolutely terrifying when she needed to. She stomped the ground with her boots.

"Um… you really shouldn't do that, Light…" Bolzan whispered softly.

"Look. It's not like the ground's going to…" Her sentence was cut off when the ground cracked, shifting downwards as the cracks spread further out.

"I TOLD YOU SO!" Bolzan shouted as the sound of the earth shattering grew to deafening levels.

Abruptly, the ground gave way and they plummeted into a dark cavern. Quick to react, Bolzan flapped over to Lightning and slowed her descent, supporting her from her armpits with his paws as they floated down.

They landed on the only lit patch of land in the cavern, owing to the small hole they had made up above.

"Ever thought of losing some weight?" Bolzan panted before collapsing on the ground.

"I'm going to ignore that comment. Where are we?" She glanced around the room and, frustrated that she was unable to see beyond the light, summoned a fireball.

"No! Lightning, don't fire that…" his warnings fell on deaf ears as Lightning launched the fireball into the darkness that encircled them.

As the fireball travelled through the shadows, dozens of pairs of yellow eyes glared at them. Lightning and Bolzan stared back uncomfortably.

Thankfully, they seemed content to sit there in the darkness doing, uh, whatever things-with-yellow-eyes do.

"Lightning?"

"Yeah?"

"PLEASE, for god's sake, listen to me when I tell you something…"

Rather than fly out, they decided they wanted to explore the caverns, interested to find out what secrets lay within.

Deciding it would be prudent for Bolzan to take point in the darkness, Lightning followed him down a path deeper into the caves, according to Bolzan.

They walked through the darkness in silence. From the way Bolzan was flinching as they stalked down the stone corridor, she was glad about not having night vision and enhanced hearing.

Suddenly, he yelped and leapt back, bumping into Lightning.

"What happened?" She glanced around, knowing she wouldn't be able to see anything.

"J-Just light up the place…" Bolzan hissed as blood trickled from his paw.

She launched a spray of fireballs into the shadows. They adhered to the walls of the corridor and the cave that they had stumbled upon, burning dimly from the general lack of oxygen. The reason they were able to breathe was due to two reasons: The constant use of aero and Bolzan's wings, which were flapping almost constantly to circulate the air. Sure, it tired him out but tired was infinitely better than dead from asphyxiation.

With the room lit up, Bolzan saw what he had steeped on; and he didn't like it.

A massive, rusted blade jutted up from the ground, its rough edge coated in fresh blood. Bolzan looked at the hole in his paw and compared it to the blade.

"Yep. I am going to die from blood poisoning. Or tetanus. Whatever comes first." Limping, he followed Lightning into the cave, envying her boots.

"Yeah, we'll worry about that later. Suck it up." She knelt and examined one of the weapons; a spear that stick out of the ground. The blade itself was almost rusted off and its once brilliant shaft now faded and thin.

"Ragna... Sei… I can't read this, it's too rusted." She stood up and looked around. Many more weapons were jutting out of the ground, lending the cave a morbid feel.

"That sounded like a name. Maybe this is a graveyard of sorts? Ugh… My head…" Bolzan was feeling warm and feverish as he moved slowly over to Lightning, muscles contracting involuntarily as he struggled with every step.

"Looks like it. Hey, are you alright? You don't look too good." She placed a hand on Bolzan's flank. It felt unnaturally warm which, she deduced, meant he was having a fever.

Bolzan tried replying but his mouth wouldn't open, no matter how much he tried. The pain was also getting more and more unbearable, especially along his back.

"Bolzan? Are you alright?" She patted his back and he recoiled in agony before collapsing on the ground, his back arched painfully.

"We have to get out of here. Can you fly?" She wasn't surprised when she failed to get an answer. He looked like he was in serious agony from the tetanus infection.

Hissing, she tried lifting him on a current of air from her Aeroja spell. When that failed, she tried to lift him. He responded by using his recovery form. This stopped the arching back but didn't do anything to kill the pain as Lightning cradled him before calling Stiria and Nix in gestalt mode.

Lightning hopped on and drove up an ice ramp that had formed from their power over the element, all while cradling Bolzan in the crook of her arm.

When she reached the ceiling, she leapt off and sliced at the ceiling with her gunblade, tearing the earthen ceiling apart as she used the motorcycle as a springboard to leap out of the underground graveyard.

She exited in the middle of a mountain range, in the valley between a pair of chalk-white mountains. The river that had once flowed between the mountains was bone-dry and they were standing on the river bed. Day had already turned into night, the temperature dropping even further than it had been while the false sun was up.

When Lightning tried to stand up, she suddenly felt dozens of pinpricks which escalated in frequency and pain until she passed out under the black sun that shone above. Bolzan, through a fog of pain, saw a large shadow come towards the incapacitated figures before passing out as well from the infection.

* * *

><p><strong>In case you were wondering how tetanus could progess so quickly, take note that this is a mutated form that is way more rapid than the normal type. I hope I managed to keep it realistic, in terms of describing the symptoms.<strong>

**Leave a review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Evans and Albida

The warm Pulsian sun shone down on Lightning as she roamed the steppe with Serah, chatting about the new village. Stopping for a break underneath a large tree, Lightning closed her eyes as she took in the sounds that defined the Archyle Steppe. The territorial growls of the gorgonopsids, the slow plodding steps that shook the earth as the long guis walked to fresher pastures, the rapid wing beats as the wyverns swooped overhead, chasing their prey.

Suddenly, Serah began poking her face continuously, annoying Lightning greatly as she closed her eyes, mumbling angrily for Serah to stop poking her.

"Who's Serah?"

She slowly opened her eyes to find an inquisitive dragon's snout constantly prodding her forehead in an unfamiliar cave. She sat up slowly, sore from lying on the floor and turned to look at the dragon that had just woken her from her blissful dream.

Bolzan was lying next to her, now watching Lightning with a concerned eye.

"You alright?" He asked, nuzzling her thigh affectionately.

"Where are we? I passed out and… ughh…" Lightning gagged and covered her mouth, feeling nauseous. Her gunblade had been removed and was lying nearby, on a shelf made of white stone.

"Don't get up; you've been out cold for at least 12 hours. Here, drink this." Bolzan nudged a bowl over to her hand. She picked up the stone bowl and sniffed it carefully.

"It's not poison, Lightning. I drank some of it too, y'know." Far too nauseous to reply, she sipped the whitish liquid in the bowl. It tasted faintly like liquefied raw beef mixed with milk.

"What did I just drink?" Lightning asked as she glanced around the cave. It seemed fairly homely, considering it was just a hole in the side of a cliff. There was a platform jutting outwards over the edge and dim torched shone faintly on the walls, casting a soft radiance across the white stone, which glowed mildly as the flickering lights struck. Towards one end of the cave was a makeshift bed of soft straw. It looked like it had just been used from the indent on the top. A corridor lad deeper into the mountain satisfactorily lit up by, presumably, more of the stone torches.

"Dragon milk. That's beside the point right now." Lightning almost vomited when she knew what she had just drank.

"Beside the point? God, why'd you let me drink that!" She spat out what was left of the liquid.

"Oh, you're not going to die, Light! Look at me. It helped me get over that tetanus infection! You'll be alright, I promise." She looked at Bolzan. Though he did look worse for the wear with the luster on his scales giving way to mild dullness and his wings hanging limply on the ground next to his heavily bandaged and likely infected forepaw, at least he could talk now as well as walk.

"Fine. How'd we get here?" She looked around once more, looking for whoever brought them to this cave.

"It was another dragon. We were out cold when she found us and brought us back to her cave. Of course, I was a hatchling, if you recall so…" Bolzan blushed and looked away, not wanting to explain further what he'd done. It was pretty embarrassing.

"Anyway, she nursed me back to health with; you guessed it, her milk. For the record, dragons lactate. There's no need to be this shocked." Bolzan glanced down the hallway where a light clicking sound could be heard.

"I guess that's her!" Bolzan supported Lightning as she stood up unsteadily, leaning on his head, much to his annoyance.

As she struggled to her feet with Bolzan's forehead as her support, the clicking grew louder and more pronounced and, finally, another dragon appeared in the hallway.

She was, Lighting admitted when she took in her size and features, fairly beautiful. The dragoness had warm crimson scales and a yellow belly as she watched them with a pair of sharp yellow eyes. She had a dark yellow crest running the length of her back, all the way to her head like Bolzan where 4 horns, 2 curved like a ram's ad the other two beneath those, pointing backwards. Her paws, only slightly smaller and more feminine than Ignitus', were tipped with gunmetal claws that clicked on the floor as she walked. Her tail ended in a arrow-shaped plate and her wings were folded up against her back. As she walked over, Lightning caught glimpses of the membrane that was strung between the wing bones, light topaz with small red accents.

"Hey, Evans!" Bolzan greeted the dragon with a friendly nuzzle, which she reciprocated with a friendly nip on his snout.

"Hello, Bolzan. I see your friend's feeling better." The dragon that Bolzan called Evans turned to Lightning, who nodded politely as a silent thanks.

"So, you helped us? Thanks but, we should get going back to the ruins." Lightning turned and walked out of the cave. She tried summoning one of her eidolons but, when nothing came to her call, she sighed and turned back.

"I don't think you'll be able to do anything of that sort, I'm afraid. I should know…" Quick as a flash, Evans flicked her tail and, at the base where her tail connected to her side, a burnt out l'cie brand, much like Fang's, was imprinted on the scales.

"I know you have one as well. Trust me; you're better of waiting here for your powers to return before heading out." Her voice was warm and caring, like a mother persuading her child to take a rest. Her wings cleverly covered the brand as her tail slid back behind her and she maneuvered over to Lightning.

"It's cold. You shouldn't stand that close to the entrance." She extended a large wing behind Lightning and gently nudged her deeper into the cave. Lightning, naturally unwilling to trust a complete stranger, pushed her wing away slowly and walked in on her own accord.

"I'm not some kid, Evans." She replied coldly.

Back in the cave, Lightning heard the giggling of a young child, probably a baby or something, coming from down the hallway.

With Evans following her, Lightning walked down the hallway into another cave within the cliff. It was, astonishingly, warmer in here than in the other cave. Natural geothermal vents rose up from the ground, heating up the room which had some simple furniture, tailored for dragons.

In the middle of the room was a cot and, next to the cot, Bolzan was lying down, belly-up, playing with a young dragon hatchling, who was giggling in ecstasy as Bolzan lifted it on his hind paws, supporting its forepaws in his.

Lightning was watching them play, transfixed, when Bolzan noticed her standing there.

"Oh! Didn't see you there, Light." Bolzan sounded light-hearted and happy, contrasting greatly with the way he fought. The hatchling opened its eyes and spotted Lightning standing there with Evans behind watching their play.

The hatchling squeaked and darted behind Bolzan, peeping out shyly from behind the older dragon. Bolzan sighed and picked up the hatchling, cooing and cradling it as it buried its snout in Bolzan's chest.

Lightning couldn't help but smile at this sight, reminding her of Bolzan a couple of months ago.

Evans smiled as well and walked into the room, taking the hatchling from Bolzan and proceeding to nurse it.

Now that she was able to take a closer look at the hatchling Lightning took note of its features. Its scales were a dull emerald green and it had a bright yellow belly. Rather than having a bony plate on the end of its tail, it ended in a coil and its crest only went from its head to the hatchling's nape. It was a slightly darker green than its scales, almost the same color as its dark, forest green wing membranes. It had a white diaper on its hindquarters as it wriggled deeper into Evans' belly, upturned bottom shaking adorably.

As it suckled from a now curled up Evans, the hatchling opened its eyes to look at lightning for the first time. Bright, innocent blue eyes stared back at lightning or, rather, a single eye stared back at lightning. The other eye held a black insignia on a red background.

"Recognize that?" Bolzan strolled over to Lightning and watched the mesmerizing scene.

Rather than answer, lightning merely nodded and walked over to the two dragons. Evans looked up and nodded towards Lightning and she knelt down next to the hatchling that, by now, had finished its meal and was watching Lightning carefully.

Slowly, Lightning reached over to the hatchling and wanted to pat it on its head. The hatchling shrunk deeper into Evans' belly, dodging her hand.

"Sorry, he's a little shy; don't take it personally, Lighting." Evans nuzzled the hatchling and it calmed down, nuzzling back, chirping dreamily.

"Mama…" It chirped softly before yawning and half-closing its eyes, rubbing them sleepily.

"He's called Albida, in case you were wondering. Took him awhile to get used to me too though, it may take longer with you…" Bolzan explained.

"Why? Because I'm a human?"

"No; because your attitude is pretty…" He was silenced with a whack on the back of his head and he grinned playfully back at her.

"So, Evans is his mother?" Lightning asked as they exited the room.

"As far as I know, yes." Bolzan replied nonchalantly, lying atop the straw bundle that served as his bed.

"Well I feel that they don't look related…" Lightning patted the straw and sat down on it, sighing.

"Yeah, I feel that way too. You saw his eye, right?" Lightning nodded and lifted the eye patch off of Bolzan's left eye. The exact same insignia was on Bolzan's eye.

"Same as yours?" Now it was Bolzan's turn to nod, rather gravely, Lighting observed.

"So… Evans' a l'cie, Albida's like you, whatever you are; maybe I'll stay here for awhile longer…" Bolzan was already curled up on the straw as the day turned to night gradually.

"This is too much of a coincidence, don't you think?" Lightning moved to position a large bundle of straw pilfered from Bolzan's. Deciding it wouldn't matter much; she placed it back and lay down on Bolzan's belly. He let her.

"I guess. Are you sure you want to sleep on me?" Bolzan adjusted his body to make Lightning more comfortable.

"… Do you miss your family?" She asked after awhile.

"Sure I do. I hope they don't miss me as much…" Bolzan replied sleepily.

"Same here." Lightning shifted her head on Bolzan's belly, soliciting giggles from the dragon.

"Hey, that tickles! Stop it!" Bolzan snickered as Lightning settled on a comfortable spot.

"Yeah? Think of it as retribution for you keeping me awake on the first night. Don't kick me again!" Lightning retorted slowly.

"Yawn… Whatever. Good night, Light." Bolzan closed his eyes and his breathing slowed, dreaming of Avalar and his family that no doubt awaited his return.

"Good night to you too." She eventually drifted off into sleep, dreaming of Gran Pulse and her friends, telling them not to miss her.

Evans walked in on them in the middle of the night and looked at them tenderly.

"Lightning… Bolzan… What brought you here to this forsaken world, away from your families..."

Evans breathed deeply and shuddered.

"They're coming for me." She whispered as she returned to Albida's room. She licked the hatchling and he stirred a little, whimpering from a nightmare. She lifted the hatchling up and cradled it as she whispered a lullaby to him. It was something she heard a long time ago when she was just a hatchling as well…

When she was done, Albida was breathing normally again and she lowered him back into its cot.

"I hope I'll live to see you fly, Albida…" She turned and looked down the hallway.

"Bolzan, Lightning. I have some news for you in the morning, something that concerns the fate of your worlds."

With that, she curled up on the floor and watched Albida with a loving gaze as if this would be the last time she'd see him…


	8. Chapter 8: Memories

The next morning, Evans woke up to the sounds of wood snapping and splintering coming from the other cave. Albida was also missing from his cot, much to her surprise. Worried for his safety, she got up and bolted out of the room, through the dimly-lit corridor that connected the small dwellings together.

Much to her relief, Albida was with Bolzan and Lightning who had, apparently, gone out earlier to gather some wood for a fire which burned with an unnatural black flame. Lightning was chopping up the firewood from the black trees that grew sparsely around the wastelands with her gunblade and Albida, who was biting some small twigs in half and showing them to Lightning. The hatchling chirped happily and flapped his little wings ecstatically when she smiled in return. Bolzan was stoking the shadowy flames carefully, occasionally adding small bursts of black fire from his jaws to the fair-sized bonfire. The burning wood crackled and snapped, throwing up small embers of absolute darkness, some of which got too close to Albida for Evans' comfort.

"Mama! Look!" He snapped another twig between his sharp hatchling teeth, showing the roughly split halves to his mother, grinning happily. Lightning looked up at Albida's voice and noticed Evans. She nodded and smiled faintly, a silent greeting for the new day to her host.

Bolzan was far too occupied with the fire, which seemed to be dying very quickly, to notice her. His scales were flushed red from the effort of constantly adding small bursts of flame to the blaze before him, body flushed against the ground to avoid getting a face full of embers. His wings were beating weakly, possibly due to the fact they had yet to relax after the infection, in a desperate effort to keep the fire alive.

She walked over to Albida and picked him up gently, checking his teeth for any damage. Satisfied that they seemed alright, she placed him back down and sat nearby, watching their progress with vague interest. She looked at the 2 outsiders, measuring them up to see which would be a better choice.

Lightning was fairly cold and uncaring but, from what she observed, it was merely a ruse brought about by years under servitude, probably under some kind of military organization. From the way she smiled at Albida, Evans could tell that she was a kind soul deep inside that cold outer shell. If only she would open up more to others. Her l'cie brand meant that they were both from Gran Pulse though, the way they got their brands would probably be vastly different.

Bolzan, on the other hand, existed on the other end of the spectrum. He was rambunctious and young; though his eyes betrayed a darker intent and a maturity beyond his years. From what she saw in his eyes, even when she was nursing him a few days ago, he was an enigmatic individual to say the least. They carried no trace of the inquisitive light that shone within the eyes of young dragons. Rather, they carried a trace of sadness and a tough life. The presence of the same insignia that marred Albida's eye shocked her at first but she grew to accept it the same way she did Albida's.

Even more disturbing was the story behind the eye which would no doubt be like Albida's, if he were able to convey deeper thoughts with his young vocal chords.

She needed one to continue her legacy and one to care for Albida, when she was gone. Evans closed her eyes and relaxed her mind for a moment, looking over miles and miles of terrain in her mind's eye. She felt something in the ruins but, before she could probe further, something tapped her snout.

She opened her eyes to find Lightning offering her some meat from an unknown source, likely the small pouch she carried with her at all times.

"You must be hungry. Eat up." Lightning seemed cold and hard but, underlying the razor-sharp tones that peppered that short sentence, was the warmth of caring for one younger than her. Probably a younger brother or sister.

"Thank you, but I'll decline." Evans paused for a moment before continuing. "Lightning? There's something I have to tell you and Bolzan, Albida too, if possible." Lightning nodded and called to Bolzan, who then proceeded to pick up Albida gently before walking over and sitting down, letting the hatchling run over to his mother's belly, snuggling in Evans' protective warmth.

"So, what did you want to tell us?" Lightning began, testing the sharpness of her gunblade with the back of her glove. When it left a small white line, she set it down and watched Evans closely.

"I believe that both of you wish to know more about my past." Though they remained silent, they still listened in rapt interest. "After all, one cannot trust another without learning about their secrets and life. Or, so I believe."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Evans." Lightning replied, nodding slowly with her eyes closed.

"You don't have to go back to when you were hatched and all that, just what you feel is necessary." Bolzan added as an afterthought, to which Evans obliged.

"Alright, then. However, this tale cannot begin without knowing of my past." Albida perked up when he heard the word "tale".

"Story time, Mama?" He asked inquisitively. She smiled and nuzzled him.

"Yes, it's story time, my child." Albida squeaked in joy and made himself comfortable for the yarn she was about to spin. Something about his youthful naivety saddened her greatly. She would miss him the most, when she passed…

"The dragons of Gran Pulse have long been the protectors of the world and that truth did not change, even when a being greater than the gods threatened our peace and survival. That beast was Gigas. It was taller than the tallest mountain, longer than the greatest ocean. It came and brought nothing but death and suffering to the inhabitants of Pulse. Along with the human l'cie, we managed to defeat Gigas, but at a terrible cost." Evans paused, recalling the tales she had heard when she herself was merely a hatchling.

"The beast cursed the land with the first of the malignant fal'cie. Before that, the fal'cie had always been benevolent lords of Gran Pulse. With the appearance of Gigas, that all changed. He cursed them, made them selfish monstrosities that cursed humans unwilling to suffer the fate of a l'cie with the brand." She took a deep breath, and continued.

"Of course, since the dragons were the biggest threat, he banished most of them to another world where, they were never seen again. If I recall, my grandmother told me it's name was…"

"Avalar?" Bolzan finished her sentence for her.

"Yes. Avalar. Since that day millennia ago, dragons have never been seen in Gran Pulse. However, Gigas hadn't taken all of the dragons. Some avoided his grasp and lived through the cleansing of Gran Pulse of the draconic kind. They formed an alliance and hid from the eyes of humans, protecting them as silent angels. Eventually, however, these dragons grew sparse and those that survived passed on their legacy to their young."

"And you're one of the defenders of Gran Pulse." She admired Lightning's ability to draw accurate conclusion as she nodded.

"Yes, I am one of the last of the Feymark. Now, I can begin my tale proper." She looked into the bright dark fire as she reminisced about her past.

"I was hatched into the Feymark and, since hatching, I have been taught of how our kind came about and the need to protect Gran Pulse. My mother was one of the brightest warriors of the Feymark, Iseria was her name. She taught me well, caring for me since birth to the day I became a young dragoness. Then, she told me a painful truth. I loved hatchlings a lot and looked forward to having my own to teach. Little did I know that I was sterile, unable to continue the legacy of the Feymark." A small tear glistened on the corner of her eye and it plopped onto Albida's head, who stirred slightly, asleep

"So, you adopted Albida?" She nodded gravely at Lightning's question.

"Yes. Though, it was an adoption by a long stretch. It was about a year ago, while I roamed the Mah'habara, the gate that both of you saw hadn't existed yet." Bothe of them were shocked when she expressed understanding at the gates that had brought them here.

"I had, unknowingly, entered the Spiral Caves in Avalar. I was still roaming when I heard the sound a hatchling crying. Surprised that there was a hatchling this deep in the cave, I followed the sound and found a little green dragon, barely hatched from his egg, lying there, crying loudly." She stroked Albida's head lovingly and the hatchling purred softly in satisfaction, still asleep.

"In that instant, I made the conscious decision that I would care for him as his mother, if I couldn't have my own. The other dragons shunned me except for my mother, may the ancients bless her kind soul, who took both of us in and stayed with us in the Mah'habara, away from the mocking eyes of the other Feymark."

"He's still too young to remember what happened that caused him to be left in the middle of the caves for the rats…"

"I think I can help, Evans. Hold him still for me, if you will." Bolzan motioned to Lightning, who came over and listened as he whispered something into her ear. She agreed with a nod and proceeded to snap Bolzan's neck with a quick flick of her hand. The sickening crack echoed throughout the caves and Evans was too stunned to react as she held down Albida gently.

Bolzan's body fell to the floor and, where it once stood, a figure of pure darkness with red sigils aglow across the draconic body watched the body drop to the floor.

It turned to Evans and Lightning, both transfixed with a deep primal fear that radiated to every limp, screaming at them to flee. Yet, they fought their instinct and stood their ground, muscles paralyzed.

"Don't worry, it's still me. Albida; wakey-wakey!" Bolzan's shadowy form touched Albida's forehead and he stirred. Albida caught sight of Bolzan and, after a split-second of wide-eyed terror, began screaming and crying out of fear. Bolzan could've sworn the hatchling had just dirtied its diaper, a yellowish-brown stain spreading across the white diaper as the tears streamed freely.

Bolzan cooed the terrified hatchling, trying desperately to comfort it; the procedure wouldn't work if his target was squirming out of fear and terror which clouded memories and the heart, making it harder to understand it.

Originally, this would have required a ton of mana crystals to even get a couple of minutes of entry time. Now, with his increased amount of Lazarite energy, he didn't need an astronomical amount of crystals anymore. The one downside: he more or less had to be dead. On that note, he preferred the crystal method. At least he wouldn't be dead; his spirit form creeped out 99% of the people he'd met.

Realizing it would be nigh on impossible to calm the infant, Bolzan had to make do with what he had at hand. Wings spread out; he encircled Albida, intensifying the hatchling's fear. He shut his crimson eyes and willed the hatchling to sleep with a few choice dragonic words. Albida was still crying up till he fell into a deep sleep as Bolzan exhaled slowly, intensifying the oblivion that covered them.

Lightning and Evans found that they were able to see and hear whatever Bolzan was experiencing, from when they saw a terrified Albida in their mind's eye. It broke Evans' heart to see her adopted son that scared but, she knew it was necessary. She choked back tears as she watched the procession. Lightning stroked her crest, trying to comfort the heartbroken dragoness.

Bolzan closed his eyes once again and, when he opened them, he found himself seemingly alive once again. He knew it was a ruse, especially when he saw that the oblivion had been replaced with a laboratory room. He shuddered, remembering his own experiences in this hellhole.

As he looked around, his eyes fell on something in the room that was blocked by one-way glass, laboratory assistants walking to and fro in a hurry. They didn't notice Bolzan, which was to be expected; he couldn't alter one's memory and, thus, the beings in the memories wouldn't notice or feel him. He peered into the glass, into a room with a sole object that shocked Bolzan, a knot of anger forming in his chest.

It was a dragon's egg and, even before the little dragon within the egg knew what was going on, they were already experimenting on it. Tubes ran into the egg shell as fluids were pumped into the dragon fetus that lay within, no doubt already in agony before it even knew what pain was.

The plaque, Bolzan noticed, bore only a few words. Those few words were enough to set Bolzan's teeth grinding in anger:

**Hatchling #100**

**Pre-Hatching Experiment**

**Do Not Show Sympathy Post-Hatching**


	9. Chapter 9: Evans' Proposals

"Sympathy breeds the weak…" Bolzan echoed softly the words he had heard in his troubled youth in the clutches of Malefor's men. This "code" was constantly being read out by nearly everyone who lived, worked or was captured there, and Bolzan hadn't been an exception back then, young and impressionable.

Deep inside, as he watched the experimentation on the unhatched dragon, Bolzan felt glad for Albida; at least he wasn't _consciously_ trained to be a killer. He'd heard that dragons could feel and remember experiences when they were in their eggs. Such a traumatizing experience should've left a mark on Albida's psyche in one way or another.

Though he didn't look forward to his, he shut his eyes as a pair of Apes walked straight through him. Feeling his way into the sealed confines of the egg, Bolzan tried to synergize with the dragon within.

_Nonononoscaredoutoutnoout__…_

Bolzan wrenched himself out of Albida's pain and, for a brief moment, found himself in the egg with the fetus. The inside of the egg looked very slimy and a small dragon was floating within. It looked very much like Albida, only lacking scales and wings. Its eyes were also fused shut. Tubes ran into the fragile being, surgically attached to its minute paws with a few of them running through its nostrils and other more painful and demeaning entrances into the body.

Moments later, he was back outside the room, trying to clear his head of the image he had seen within. When he opened his eyes, the hallway jolted, almost throwing him to the ground along with many other Apes. He heard shouts and looked up. The memory faded after that, dissolving in a flurry of particles that were swept away by an unseen wind.

Bolzan found himself standing on what seemed to be nothing, though he could clearly feel a surface as he explored the abyss he had fallen in. It looked very much like a clear nighttime sky, with small blips of light dotting the neverending shadows. Wisps of light floated around slowly, leaving lines of light that slowly faded away as they moved.

One seemed to be moving far more erratically than the others, bouncing randomly off invisible surfaces as it made its way through the darkness with a mind of its own.

He walked up to it and touched the chaotic tail of the wisp.

The abyss jolted like static on a screen and the wisp vanished, dissolving into small particles of light that multiplied and expanded, filing the darkness with its light. Bolzan shielded his eyes from the blinding flash that ensued. His eyes adapted quickly when they opened to darkness, nearly as absolute as the abyss he had just left.

Almost immediately, he heard a soft whimpering come from somewhere in the shadows. He sniffed the air. Behind the strong acidic odor was the familiar smell of rock and dirt, signifying that he was definitely in a cave of some sort. The whimpering grew louder and claw-ticks could be heard coming from somewhere else, also growing louder with time.

Bolzan looked backwards to find a pair of dragons lightning a torch near a doorway. One of them was carrying a tube while the other brought a bucket of some sort, filled with a white liquid that slopped over the edges.

The memory was extremely clear, allowing him to tell the colour of their scales as they walked ever deeper into the cave. One was a grey dragon, obviously a female from the slender figure and feminine eyes that carried a great amount of fear.

The other was a male, probably her mate. It had black scales that shimmered in the shadows. Bolzan could smell his annoyance; a sharp tang that filled the entire room. Though Bolzan was merely a figment in this memory, he could still easily smell the tension in the air, thick enough that you could almost cut it with a knife.

"We shouldn't have it in here, Akaruga!" The female whispered angrily as they walked forward, phasing through Bolzan. He felt their fear and tension as they walked through.

"We don't have a choice, Grelle; I'm still figuring out what to do with it!" The male hissed angrily. They stopped and lit the remaining torches, illuminating the cave with their flickering light.

Albida was chained, his jaws bound by a piece of leather that was bound far too tightly. His limbs were chained to the ground and he whimpered painfully, barely able to make any other sound. His neck was restrained to the wall behind him and his diaper had been obviously unchanged for an unknown amount of time.

The whimpering grew in frequency as the two dragons closed in on him. Albida struggled against the chains to no avail. Where the chains were bound, the scales had been rubbed off, exposing the raw flesh beneath that rubbed painfully on the restraints. As he struggled, blood began seeping slowly from the wounds.

"Oh, just SHUT UP, would you?" The male reached down and roughly lifted Albida by the chin, pulling the chain to its limit, nearly gagging the hatchling.

"Let's get this over with, Akaruga." The male grabbed the tube and inserted it into Albida's nostril, soliciting a painful squeak as he placed a funnel over the other end. The female poured the liquid into the tube and Albida gagged painfully, thrashing about as the fluids ran down his throat.

They didn't even look to see if the hatchling was alright. They just extracted the tube and left without another look. They muttered something to each other and Bolzan was close enough to make out a few words.

"… isn't right…"

"Its… Malefor… spawn…"

The female seemed to pity Albida while the male was completely indifferent to what they were doing. They left the cave, extinguishing the torches once again, plunging the cave into darkness.

Bolzan looked back into the shadows and walked towards the renewed whimpering. Albida was in a bad shape. The fluid, which looked like milk, dripped out of Albida's jaws and nose as the hatchling let out a sob, wrenching its eyes shut in pain. It squeaked sadly, as if beckoning Bolzan to free him from his torture.

Bolzan had to look away from the painful scene; he let out a sob as the memory dissolved once more.

"Dragons torturing other dragons out of fear… I can't believe this." One another memory surfaced. This one seemed more sedate from the way it flowed about slowly. Bolzan walked forwards and it seemed to move towards him, beckoning him to reveal its contents. Bolzan obliged.

"Shh, don't worry, hatchling. I'm bringing you somewhere safer, alright?" The voice of the dragoness from the previous memory rang through the cave, comforting the wailing Albida. Behind her, many dragons seemed to be chasing her.

"Traitor!" One of them cried out.

"Ally to Malefor!" Another roared.

Bolzan followed Grelle as she ran deeper into the cave, cradling the hatchling in one paw that was wrapped in a blanket that ran red with blood.

"So, she's risking her life for him?" Bolzan mused to himself, wondering if Evans could see this.

She ran into a dead end and, panting, lay Albida down, wrapping him in the bloody blanket. Her paw glistened in the shadows with blood when the blanket was removed.

"Even Malefor's spawn shouldn't be tortured like that. I'd rather you die naturally than by our hand. Good bye, hatchling." She nuzzled Albida one last time before running off, leading the horde away from the defenseless hatchling.

Albida seemed to sense the mercy she had shown him and slowly stopped crying. Bolzan could feel his anger build up, not his but Albida's, and manifest the dark powers that ran in his young blood.

When the mob ran past his entrance, the hatchling roared, stunning them from the sheer volume. A bright shadowy flame burned over his marked right eye as he bared his hatchling fangs at the fully grown dragons that had filled the dead end.

"There it is! The rest of you, get the traitor! I'll handle this…" The largest dragon of the lot charged, bellowing angrily at the small hatchling. The carnage that ensued reminded Bolzan of what he had done decades ago, when he had escaped himself.

Suffice to say, within moments, the attacker had nearly ceased to exist. Blood covered the cave walls and a carcass lay in the ground, torn open by an unseen force. Albida was tearing chunks of flesh from the corpse and wolfing them down greedily, though he ended up vomiting for awhile due to his inability to digest raw flesh fully.

A scream could be heard deep within the caves that made Bolzan's blood run cold. When the screams subsided, the mob happened upon the dead end once again and, seeing the mutilated corpse of their former leader, fled the caves as fast as their limbs could carry them.

Albida used whatever remaining darkness he had and instinctively buried the corpse, sinking it beneath the ground for a future meal.

With that little remnant exhausted, Albida came to and proceeded puking. The discomfort of the undigested flesh sitting in his belly brought painful tears to his eyes as he continued crying, throwing up lumps of flesh along with some yellowish bile.

The memory stopped abruptly after that but Bolzan could tell what happened next.

With every memory reviewed, Bolzan willed himself out of Albida's dark heart, back into the cave where his spirit was cradling a whimpering Albida, likely still asleep. His shadow retreated and stood next to his body. Evans and Lightning looked stunned by what they had seen.

"…Evans… I'm sorry you had to see that…" Bolzan stuttered before phasing into his body, simultaneously fixing his broken neck, which creaked as he tested the new bone that had regenerated. He carried an extremely guilty look on his face as he avoided Evans' eyes. His wings covered the lower part of his face and he turned away.

Surprisingly, Evans walked over to Bolzan as Lightning cared for Albida, who had relaxed and woken up.

"It's alright, Bolzan. You meant well. I'm glad to see he was shown some love back then." She stroked Bolzan's crest gently and he dropped his wings.

"… It looked so much like my past…" Bolzan whispered, staring blankly at a crack on the stone surface.

"I don't want him to turn out how I did, Evans…" Bolzan looked at Evans with a pleading eye. "Can you make sure he stays on the right path?"

Evans smiled and hugged Bolzan.

"Don't worry, I won't let him. Better yet, I have a proposal for you." She released Bolzan and watched him intently.

"You know what he could go through, don't you?" Evans asked solemnly and Bolzan nodded.

"… I don't have much time left, Bolzan. If you could care for Albida for me, I'd be eternally grateful." Bolzan was stunned at the proposal as he watched Albida behind her, giggling as lightning tickled him. Albida turned his head and looked at Bolzan.

"Bol-zan!" He gurgled, stretching out his short forepaws towards Bolzan, unaware of the fact that he was the one that scared him earlier. That, or he knew but felt it was for his own good and no longer felt scared. Bolzan felt it was the latter.

"He seems rather taken to you." Evans noted with a gentle smile before turning back to the white dragon. "So… will you take up my offer? He needs a friend and mentor to help and care for him."

"I-I have to think about this…" Bolzan stammered as he looked at Evans. Her face carried no trace of humor.

"That's quite alright, Bolzan." She nipped him on the tip of his snout playfully.

They returned and Lightning passed Albida back to Evans who, in turn, assed him to Bolzan before leading Lightning to the other room.

"Is there something you have to tell me?" Lightning asked as she sat on the edge of the cot.

"Yes. It concerns not just the fate of this world. It concerns Gran Pulse as well." Her voice was solemn as she uttered the words.

"My time is coming soon; I can feel it in the air. You seem to be a powerful individual who lives to protect those you hold dear." Lightning remained placid as she nodded.

"My sister and friends mean the most to me, back in Gran Pulse." Lightning closed her eyes and reminisced of Pulse.

"But… there's no way back, is there?" Lightning asked as she fingered her l'cie mark. "Besides, eve if I get out of here, I won't be a l'cie anymore…"

"That won't be a problem, Lightning. L'cie brands can be transferred from one to another. The recipient will inherit all of the donor's memories and experiences, binding their souls together." Evans looked at her own brand.

"…I think there may be a better use for it." Lightning suggested. "I'm fully capable of handling myself in a fight, Evans."

"Alright, then. Who do you suggest?" Lightning was about to tell her when Bolzan peeked in, interrupting their conversation.

"Sorry to interrupt but, are there any extra diapers here?" He asked sheepishly. "Wet wipes would be a definite plus."

Evans looked at Lightning, and then gestured to the shelves at the far end of the room.

"They're over there, Bolzan."

As Bolzan walked over, he paused next to the two of them and said solemnly.

"Evans? I've made up my mind, on one condition." She nodded and he continued.

"Let him stay with you until the day comes. Then, I'll come and pick him up. I don't want to prematurely end his connection with you, his mother, and make him go with a stranger. I'd rather he see you to the end. Is that possible?" Evans thought for a moment before nodding slowly.

"I shall keep him safe on that day. You can count on that, Bolzan. Thank you." She watched him leave with the supplies and turned back to Lightning.

"So, he's accepted my proposal. Will you?" An uneasy silence fell over the room as Lightning pondered her decision.

Finally, she nodded and accepted the burden. Evans smiled and took her pink hair in her paws. As she stroked it, an emblem slowly formed on the hair, glowing brightly.

When the glow subsided, a lock of her hair was tied with a ring depicting a pair of crescent moons crossing each other with a dragon in the middle, standing guard solemnly.

"Congratulations. You're one of the Feymark now, Lightning." Lightning slid the ring out of her hair and slipped it onto her ring finger. It was a perfect fit.

"Thanks, Evans. I won't let you, or the Feymark, down." She slid her glove back on and, together, they entered the other room.

Albida was lying down on the ground, swiping at Bolzan's tail happily as it flicked in front of the hatchling's captivated eyes. He had just finished diapering the hatchling and was putting the tabs back on in place when they returned.

Evans noted that he had an injured paw as he did it and yet, he hadn't messed up at all. A good choice for Albida's new family, she thought approvingly.

"So, are we ready to go, Lightning?" Bolzan asked as he lifted Albida gently.

Lightning looked outside. The sun was about to become fully dark.

"Maybe we should stay one more night." Bolzan looked out as well and nodded, passing the hatchling back to Evans. Albida yawned and closed his eyes in the crook of her forepaw.

"I'll put him to bed, make yourselves comfortable, alright?" She returned to the room with Albida leaving Bolzan and Lightning alone once more.

"So… how's your paw?" Lightning asked as Bolzan limped over to the straw.

"It's alright, I guess." He flexed it experimentally, wincing at the sharp pain.

"… Evans told me we could go back." She removed her glove and held up her hand, examining the ring she had received.

"But are you going to go back, with so much we haven't done?" Bolzan asked the exact question she had in her heart.

"No. I won't return until we get to the bottom of what's happening." Bolzan cocked his head in confusion, asking what she meant.

"After Evans gave me the ring, I felt like there was something… wrong with this world. Like it's not really what it's supposed to be. What if we aren't defending the worlds? What if we're actually bringing them closer to destruction?" If Bolzan hadn't felt the same, he'd have dismissed her questions as paranoia. As it was, paranoia was your only defense in this world; without it, you were as good as dead.

"We should get back to the ruins soon. I feel like something's happened there." Lightning nodded and stretched out next to Bolzan, resting her head on his belly.

"Sounds like a plan." They bade each other goodnight and fell into a light sleep.

In the middle of the night, he felt something nudge at his side, followed by some whimpering. He opened his eyes to find Albida curled up next to him and Lightning with a small gash over his head that was dripping blood. He had evidently climbed to the edge of his cot and fallen off, hitting his head on something.

"Head hurts, Bolzan…" He whimpered, snuggling closer.

"Why didn't your Mama help you?" Bolzan asked, finding it very unusual.

"She told me to find you. Get used to you, she said. Why'd Mama say that?" Bolzan sat up and placed a paw over the wound, making the hatchling whimper loudly.

"Don't worry, Albida. She means well. Now, let's get your head fixed, alright?" A warm light pulsed on his paw and Albida let out a relieved sigh as the wound closed up, the pain ebbing away.

"There we go. Is that better?" Albida nodded and yawned again.

"…Is Mama going away?" He asked as he leaned on Bolzan's chest.

Bolzan, unsure how to reply, thought for a moment before saying: "Yes. She's going somewhere."

"Where?" Albida asked sleepily.

"Somewhere that's safe. Somewhere warm." Bolzan replied, stroking the hatchling's head.

"Can I see her again?" Albida asked quietly, half-asleep.

"… No, Albida. Where she's going, you can't see her again…" Those words brought tears to Bolzan's eyes. Even more so with Albida's answer.

"If I can't see Mama when she goes away, I want to go with her. I want to be with her forever and ever and ever…" The words faded, replaced by heavy breathing, as Albida fell asleep.

Bolzan remained silent, letting the tears flow freely.

"I heard that, Bolzan." Lightning whispered, sitting up.

Bolzan drew a ragged breath and closed his eyes, voice trembling as he spoke.

"I don't want him to forget Evans, Light. It'd be a crime to forget someone that nice…" He sniffed as the tears fell faster.

"There's a way, Bolzan, for him to remember Evans for as long as he lives." Lightning whispered.

"He doesn't age, you know. I should know that myself." The tears ebbed and he wiped his eyes, careful not to wake the sleeping infant.

"Maybe so, but even his memory will fade after awhile unless…" She whispered her idea to Bolzan.

"What?" Bolzan yelped, waking Albida up accidentally. Albida began whimpering before he broke into a full-out bawl, shocking Bolzan and Lightning. They began calming him down, playing with him and cooing him until he relaxed enough to fall back asleep.

"There's no way Evans'll accept that!" Bolzan whispered angrily as he positioned Albida on his chest.

"She already did, Bolzan." Though Evans hadn't exactly agreed, Lightning could tell from Evans' eyes that she'd already thought of that and was merely waiting for Lightning's opinion.

Bolzan sighed and nuzzled Albida, who giggled in his sleep.

"If you say so, Light." He lowered his head onto the straw, curling up around Lightning and Albida, and was soon deep asleep.

Lightning remained awake as she examined the ring that symbolized the Feymark. Even in the dark, it shone faintly; not enough to wake someone up but just bright enough to see the features of the ring. Some special kind of stone, she guessed.

"Maybe I should be like this ring; when there isn't any light, I'll make my own. Hold on, Serah, I'm coming home soon. After I'm done."


	10. Chapter 10: Trust

The next day, when the black sun had barely begun turning light, they set off for the ruins once again.

Or, at least, that was the plan.

They actually spent some of the new day trying to get their bearings in the confusing ravine. Flight was not an option, owing to Bolzan's wings not functioning properly. Lightning also just HAPPENED not to have any flying eidolons to call upon (Bahamut was the only one and Fang was using it).

"Umm… We're completely lost, aren't we, Light?" Bolzan asked as the cold heat beat down upon them and they retraced their route for the umpteenth time.

Lightning remained placid and looked up at the sky, willing the sun to move in order to give her some sort of bearing. Rather obstinately, it refused to budge.

"Maybe we should ask Evans for the way out…" He sat down and waited for Lightning's reply, tugging at his wing to test its mobility.

After a couple of minutes, even the intrepid Lightning gave in and turned back towards Evans' cave, defeated.

"Hey, Evans!" Bolzan shouted at the opening. The slope made it easy to get off, nigh impossible to get back up without flight.

A little green speck peeked over the edge of the cave ledge before disappearing back into the cave. Moments later, the red dragon leapt of the ledge and glided down towards them like a vulture descending onto a carcass.

Admittedly, she had the right to be a little mad at them for leaving without a sound, as evidenced when she watched them with a pair of lethal, slit-like pupils. It was fairly disconcerting for Bolzan, who only knew of one other dragon who actually had those eyes...

Albida was snoozing on her back, blissfully ignorant of the lecture the two champions were receiving from his mother.

After a while, Evans stopped and pointed them in the general direction of the ruins, motherly once more. Before they left, however, she had one last piece of advice for them.

"There's someone behind this; and its not who you think it is…" With that, she left for the cave once again, wishing them the best of luck on the journey back.

"Is it just me, or does she seem very tired?" Bolzan shouted over the wind as they exited the ravine into the wide open wastelands.

"Yeah, I guess so." In the vast expanse, Lightning was using Brynhildr's gestalt mode to zip across the land, owing to the sun being half-dark by now. Bolzan was, unfortunately, stuck with clinging onto the roof with his claws.

"Um, Lightning?"

"What?"

"Can I PLEASE come in?"

"Let me think about it. No."

Bolzan groaned and lowered his head, keeping his eyes out of the buffeting wind. Along the way, he noticed the cave they had fallen into that had led to the graveyard. He made a mental note to ask Lazarus about it when they got back.

After a harrying journey, Bolzan stepped off the roof shakily before collapsing to the ground, panting.

"Sweet, stationary ground at last!" He panted, nuzzling the dusty ground affectionately.

Lightning ignored the ecstatic dragon and made a beeline for the ruin's entrance. She noticed the distinct lack of opponents in the courtyard; or anywhere, for that matter.

"Something's not right…" She muttered, recalling Evans' words. The ring glowed faintly on her finger as she made her way back into the ruins. Bolzan followed closely behind, shaking his body to dislodge the dust that had gotten caught between his scales during his brief moment of intimacy with the ground.

As if in reply to her words, she heard Fang's panicked draconic voice.

"Vanille!"

Lightning's blood ran cold as she sprinted down the steps, taking them three at a time towards the Anima room.

The scene of carnage could only be rivaled by the Purge she had experienced. Anima was torn to shreds, pieces of metal strewn across the steps that surrounded them. A thick, acrid smoke filled the room, emanating from two sources. The first was Anima, which looked like it had been blown apart.

The other was Vanille's eidolon.

Lightning ran over to Fang, who was kneeling next to the eidolon's "corpse".

"If I find out who did this…" She heard Fang seethe between rows of metal teeth, small jets of smoke emanated from the miniscule gaps that were present between each tooth.

"… Fang?" Lightning whispered carefully.

"What?" She lashed out, barely missing Lightning's shoulder with a massive claw. The eidolon's eyes, though foreign and metallic, still carried a great anger at losing a family member. There were no tears but Lightning knew that, in the human part of the eidolon, Fang would be weeping profusely.

Lightning parried every blow carefully, shocked at Fang's outburst. She had never seen Fang lose it like this.

"Get out of the way!" At Bolzan's voice, Lightning leapt to the side as Bolzan charged, head butting the rampaging Fang with a pair of shining dragon horns.

Fang was thrown into the stands, throwing up fragments of stone from the impact, shattering a sizable chunk of the tiered stone.

"Get a hold of yourself, Fang!" Lightning leapt onto the eidolon and, with Bolzan's help, managed to subdue her friend.

After Fang had calmed down, lightning asked what happened as she walked over to the remains of Hecatoncheir.

"I have no idea. When I came in, the room was already like this and Vanille… Oh god, Vanille…" The grieving eidolon felt a slight pressure on her belly and looked down to find Bolzan nuzzling her gently.

"It's alright, Fang. It's not your fault…" He looked up and Fang nodded, sighing.

"You're right. But when I find who did this…" Bolzan whimpered when a jet of flame escaped her jaws, barely missing him.

"He, or she, will pay."

Lightning was busy examining the torn up mechanical parts. The thick smoke coming from the main torso made it impossible to take a closer look. That was remedied with a quick Aero, blowing away most of the smoke.

Immediately, she noticed the claw-like marks that marred the torn up torso. Almost every single one of the arms had been torn off, leaving only a few hanging from the mechanical chassis awkwardly.

"Probably dragon…" Lightning mused, comparing the marks with what she had seen before. Nothing came close to their size and brutality, save a dragon's.

"What happened?" Ignitus' voice rang throughout the smoky room as he waded through the choking fog.

"Ignitus!" Bolzan ran over with Fang in tow. The younger dragon was dwarfed by the other two, considerably older, dragons.

After Fang related her side of the story to him, he nodded and sighed.

"It has to be Lazarus…"

"Speaking of which, where is he?" Bolzan interrupted Ignitus' words with his own before running off to find the other dragon.

"As I was saying, this has to be Lazarus' doing. I can feel it in my bones..." He walked over to the two machines and examined them with the precision of a forensic detective.

"...What makes you so sure about that?" Lightning asked. She couldn't afford to trust anybody until they figured out what just happened.

"He's the only one strong enough to take on two fal'cie and actually WIN." This was a valid point; Lazarus was pretty powerful, maybe even more powerful than a fal'cie. Lightning had seen him fire off something that encased a mountain in crystal before walking off, barely winded.

"Lazarus? Why, that back stabbing…" Fang felt like running off to give Lazarus a piece of her mind when Ignitus held her back, shaking his head.

"No, you can't go and fight him, Fang. Look at what he's done to Vanille and Anima…" His words slowed her down and her shoulders dropped sadly.

"What about Bolzan? He ran off to find Lazarus, y'know." Fang muttered angrily.

"He won't hurt Bolzan, Fang. Just calm down…" Ignitus said soothingly to the agitated biomechanical being.

All the while, Lightning was watching the two of them with a skeptical eye from the shadows of the smoke.

Later that day, Bolzan was waiting in his room for Lightning, checking his claws for damage.

"What are you looking at?" Lightning asked after what seemed like an eternity.

"I'm checking my claws for cracks. Clinging onto the roof of a car going at hundreds of kilometers per hour might do that, for your information." He grumbled angrily. Satisfied that they seemed alright, he looked up at Lightning, who was seated on the other bed.

"How's Fang?" Bolzan asked, concerned for her mental wellbeing.

"She's doing alright. Did Lazarus tell you anything?" Lightning asked back and Bolzan nodded solemnly.

"Yep."

He then proceeded to tell her about what he had heard from the Purple Dragon.

Apparently, the cave they had fallen into was really some sort of graveyard. There was an actual entrance but it was blocked off by one of the landform changing earthquakes that struck the world occasionally, especially when there were new "arrivals". The ravine and mountains were the result of one of these quakes; including the one that Evans and Albida lived in.

Lazarus' words corroborated with what Lightning had expected about the mass amount of weapons underground.

What really disturbed her was what the weapons meant and she could tell that Bolzan knew this as well…

"How many, Bolzan?" Lightning whispered ominously. Bolzan shook his head.

"From what I recall, the cavern was pretty large and filled with weapons. Maybe, I don't know, thousands of warriors?" Bolzan made a few mental calculations and shuddered at the thought. "This war's been going on for millennia …"

"Someone here's not who they say they are." Lightning said, almost randomly.

"What makes you say that?" Bolzan asked, confused.

"I've been thinking about what Evans told us… Why weren't there any attacks on the ruins? What's with the lack of monsters during the past few days? Something's wrong, Bolzan, and we're going to find out what it is." Lightning looked out of the window that showed the mountains and sighed.

"… You're worried about them too?" Bolzan asked, moving across the room to Lightning's bed and joining her in watching the mountains under the shadowy light of the midnight sun.

Lightning remained silent and placed her other hand over the ring Evans had given her.

The ruins felt so cold and lonely compared to Evans' cave. Sure, it wasn't very fancy, nor was it very large. What made it feel special was the warmth the both of them had missed for a month since coming here. It made them feel safe, like maybe being stuck here wouldn't be so bad after all.

It had barely been a few hours and they were already missing that little cave. It felt more like home than the ruins they were in now. With Vanille gone, the ruins felt emptier than ever before.

Even Bolzan, who was very close to the two other dragons, felt like something was missing.

Lightning stroked Bolzan's head and he stretched his wings dreamily in reply, growling happily.

"I miss them, Lightning." He got up and walked to the entrance to their room.

Without another thought, Lightning got up as well and followed the dragon.

As they stood in the deserted and dusty courtyard, under the black sun that hung in the sky, Bolzan stretched his wings while Lightning called Odin in gestalt mode.

"One last look before we find out what's going on here?" Lightning got onto Sleipnir and swung the double-sided sword to test its sharpness. It left a massive rent in the ground easily.

"You mean before we go home." Bolzan retorted, mildly annoyed.

"You're such an optimist, dragon."

"And you're such a pessimist, pink-haired lady."

She laughed softly and her steed reared up on its hind legs, whinnying.

Bolzan took a few tentative steps forward, flapping his wings. Satisfied that they were working properly, he took off and hovered around Lightning.

Suddenly, her laughed was cut short by a stabbing pain in her chest. She heard a dragon roaring in her mind as the pain built up.

She gasped and opened her eyes which had unknowingly shut themselves during the vision.

"Is something wrong, Lightning?" He was answered with the rapid hoof beats of the mechanical horse as it galloped out of the gates. Bolzan growled and struggled to fly next to the horse with his semi-usable wings.

"Hey! Slow down! What happened?" He was barely keeping up with the horse and had to shout to be heard over the wind and hoof stomps.

"Something happened to Evans."

Without another word, Lightning quickened her pace.

To her surprise, Bolzan overtook her easily.


	11. Chapter 11: Broken Shackles

The valley between the mountains beheld a scene of absolute chaos. Swarms of monsters were scaling the rocky surfaces, seeking an unseen prey. Beasts with insect-like wings buzzed about, each easily as large as a horse with a stinger to match. The poison sizzled when it dripped onto the rocks, dissolving them in their sickly green glow.

Massive holes had been blown onto the mountainside, evidently by the biomechanical arbalests that plodded about slowly with their six stocky legs, readying another volley of shots towards the already damaged mountains. Rocks the size of houses cascaded down whenever they fired a shot, followed by a burst of heat akin to the surface of the sun and a flash of blinding white light.

As the stones came hurtling down, some of the monsters were crushed by their sheer weight with a sickening crunch along with a pained screech. In spite of this, the others still continued searching the ruined mountains and valley, ignoring the deaths of their comrades.

A lone tree remained, standing obstinately against the relentless tirade of the rocks and shrapnel that rained from the heavens. Several days ago, for some reason, Lightning had decided not to cut down that tree, stating that it would be best to leave one standing, just in case.

Who would've thought that, in the gnarled branches that crowned the blackened tree was a little hatchling, terrified out of its wits. It clung onto the large branches for dear life as the Crawlers swarmed beneath, sensing fresh prey in the branches far above.

The tree creaked ominously, bending to the side as the swarming Crawlers pushed on its trunk to topple it.

"Albida!" Bolzan and Lightning dashed into the fray and, lacking the time to use their enhanced abilities, resorted to physical claw rakes and slashes from the gunblade. New abilities now forgotten in the heat of battle, they fought like madmen amidst the black hordes.

Attracted by the prospect of fresh blood, the Crawlers turned their attention from the tree, with the peeping hatchling in its branches, and joined in on the attack. They were easily dispatched by Bolzan, who blasted them with some Hellfire, burning them to a crisp in the black flames. As he was firing, Lightning slashed at the Crawlers with fast precise slices, ripping them to shreds with her light speedy flurry of attacks.

By now, the other two types of enemies had noticed the commotion and were turning to attack the two largest threats.

Overwhelmed by the new amount of opposition, Bolzan and Lightning had begun to falter, letting attacks get through their guard and failing to parry several attacks. A large barb tore into Bolzan's injured forepaw and he let out a roar of agony before terminating his aggressor. Lightning was struck down by a claw sweep from one of the Crawlers, leaving a nasty wound on her side. She sprang back up with a handspring and dashed forwards, slicing her foe to ribbons.

Though they were putting up a good fight, it was fairly evident that, if it went on any longer, they would lose miserably. Their strength was slowly ebbing away and their attacks got slower and sloppier. More attacks were striking them now and, even with their separate healing abilities, they knew they were outnumbered as more attacks tore through their flesh and scales.

Suddenly, Bolzan heard Albida's fearful cry and he looked up. The word faded into red and, moments later, he was seated in the cave, pain ripping through every muscle in his body as Lightning pointed her gunblade at him cautiously, cradling Albida in the crook of her free arm. Both had a look of abject terror on their blood-speckled faces and, in Lightning's case, a look of shame as well.

"W-What happened…?" His tail flicked up and he found it was bandaged up badly with, not surprisingly, a diaper. The rest of the wounds on his body were left uncovered except for a paste that had been applied over the bloody flesh. It was green and evil-smelling, but it soothed the pain somewhat.

His eye patch was also missing.

Instinctively, he covered his left eye with his free paw; the other one hung limply at his side as if the bones had been broken in them. With a makeshift splint holding the arm in place, he looked more like a war victim than a dragon.

Scared as Albida was, he moved his own paw to his own eye.

"Same…" He muttered softly.

"Are you normal again?" Lightning asked, still pointing the weapon at his chest. Bolzan nodded and coughed, bringing up some bloody phlegm.

"Yeah… What did I do?" He reached out to Albida, who shrunk into Lightning's breast as Lightning tightened the grip on her blade.

"… What… What happened…?"

"Scared the hell out of us, that's what…" Lightning relaxed her gunblade a little and moved closer, still in her defensive stance. She felt the diaper wrapped around his tail and tore it off. This was met with a roar from Bolzan that shook the entire cave to its foundation, causing small pebbles to dislodge from the ceiling and walls as Albida whimpered.

When the blinding pain had subsided, he looked at his tail once more. It was split in half; the metal blade that had been surgically attached by Malefor was missing, replaced by a black, double-tongued sword that had seemingly grown out of his bone. The flesh that had been cleaved apart had already begun healing, both halves being pulled together by strings of red flesh with embryonic-looking scales, soft and minute.

"D-Did I do… that?" Bolzan gestured to the new wound that graced Lightning's shoulder. She nodded grimly and tightened her grip.

"Albida?" The hatchling reacted to the sound of his name but was far too terrified to look at the injured dragon. The brief glimpse of Albida's expression told Bolzan that the child was afraid of HIM. The monster that had scared Albida wasn't one of the shadowy beings. It was Bolzan… or whatever had taken over him during the gap in his memory.

There was a fairly large gash on the hatchling's left thigh, no doubt the work of dragon claws from the rough, jagged edges that surrounded the wound. Every time the hind leg moved, Albida let out a whimper of pain.

An uneasy silence fell over the cave, punctuated by Albida's sobs and whimpers.

After a while, Bolzan tried to stand up and Lightning leapt back, aiming the "gun" at his heart. There was no way to miss at such a close range.

"P-Please, Light… Tell me what I did."

"Don't call me Light… Monster…" Lightning cocked the gun and pointed it at the dragon's heart, who just stood there placidly as she lined up her shot.

"… No…" Albida's voice was barely a whisper but it stopped Lightning's finger, which was already halfway to pulling the trigger.

"What?" Lightning refused to let up on the pressure on the gun trigger.

"Go ahead, kill me. Tell Evans I'm sorry I can't take care of Albida like I promised." He lifted his head up and exposed his chest.

Lightning's hand trembled as she tightened her grip on the trigger.

"She's already gone, Bolzan. Her crystal's in the other room." Those words cut through both of them like knives, not to mention Albida, who had begun sobbing anew.

"… No." Albida was still sobbing and the word was tinged with a great sadness. Yet, there was a sort of resolution that was behind that single word.

"Just kill me already, Lightning…"

"No!" Albida's voice was stronger now and he lifted his head to look at lightning with bloodshot eyes filled with tears. Lightning looked down as well, sensing movement.

"He attacked us, Albida. What if he does it again?" Lightning continued aiming the gun in spite of the pain that burned in her arm.

"No! No more fighting! Mama told me friends shouldn't fight! No! No! No!" He was pounding on lightning's chest with all of his feeble might, punctuating every word with a strike.

Lightning's hand wavered and dropped, letting the gunblade drop to the ground with a rattling clang. The gun fired and it hit the wall behind Bolzan, barely missing his head.

"Tell me what happened, Lightning." Bolzan limped over and looked into her eyes.

With a sigh, Lightning began describing what happened.

From her point of view, she described Bolzan completely losing it in a burst of darkness that knocked her down and staggered the rest of the Crawlers, Arbalests and Stingers. All this happened after they spotted Albida in the claws of a Stinger. She gave him a wide berth as Bolzan decimated their assailants.

With some breathing space, Lightning set out to rescue Albida. During the shot time it took to get Albida down safely, Bolzan had torn through the enemy's ranks, leaving nothing but destruction in his wake. Though he was armored, Lightning said that there weren't any weapons whatsoever, save for Bolzan's claws and fangs.

After they were disposed of, lightning ran over to Bolzan to see if he was alright. Who would've thought that he lashed out and attacked them, managing to wound both of them in a single, double-clawed sweep.

She was then forced to do battle with Bolzan, this time with her l'cie powers in full blast. She stabbed his tail into the ground, preventing further forward movement from the berserking beast. He had expressed no pain at that moment, merely bloodlust as he continued attacking them in a frenzy.

During his attacks, he had torn his own tail in half from the gunblade and the bony growth sprouted out almost instantly and he renewed his attacks.

Unwilling to hurt the dragon, Lightning was forced to dodge his elemental attacks and claw strikes until she tripped over her own gunblade and tumbled to the ground.

Bolzan loomed over them and was about to deliver the killing blow when he suddenly dropped to the ground, glassy-eyed. She then proceeded to bring him up to Evans' cave on one of her eidolons where she fixed him up (reluctantly, she admitted).

It was also during that time approximately six hours ago that she found Evans' crystal in the nursery with dozens of dead Crawlers littering the room.

Small snippets of what had happened were now returning to Bolzan and he wracked his brains to recall as much of it as possible.

From his point of view, the world turned red when he saw Albida in danger and the only thought that filled his mind was to make those who would bring harm to his hatchling pay, hence the bloodlust.

After they were all killed, he had mistaken Lightning as trying to kidnap Albida and attacked her instead. When he was about to kill her, he heard Lazarus' voice in his head telling him that this would be his final bloodlust, for he had used it for what he cared about the most: Albida. He then proceeded to pass out.

"It's coming back to me now… I did it all to protect Albida, regardless of the cost… I'm sorry, Lightning." Lightning, who was still mildly hostile towards Bolzan, stepped back cautiously. Albida was still terrified but he wriggled his way out of Lightning's arm and limped over to Bolzan, whimpering painfully at the wound.

He gestured to the wound and looked at Bolzan with pleading eyes, either begging for forgiveness or for some healing.

"… I'm sorry, little guy. I didn't mean it." With the last of his strength, he breathed a warm white light over the wound and watched as the wound closed up, leaving a thin line as the only sign of the injury.

Albida tested his newly fixed hind leg and, satisfied, hugged Bolzan warmly. Bolzan reciprocated the gesture with a fond nuzzle on the hatchling's head.

"You know he may not really mean it, right? After all, he's only a year old…" Though her voice was skeptical, she knew that this wasn't any false feeling. Albida had really forgiven Bolzan; and all because he had healed his wound.

"I'm sorry…" Bolzan curled up around the hatchling, not caring about his wounds, and lulled the child to sleep with comforting words. Lightning sighed and kept an eye on them. When he didn't show any sign of hostility, she relaxed.

"… Looks like you made the right choice, Evans. May your soul rest in peace."

Lightning sat down and watched the two of them curled up tightly, breathing softly. She watched them until she herself succumbed to the cradling arms of sleep.

In her dreams, she saw Evans singing a lullaby and she asked the motherly dragon what it meant.

"It's a ballad of my mother," she had said soothingly in the field of tulips. "I hope that I'll have my own, someday."

"Don't worry, Evans. We'll make sure you have your own song to sing." Lightning turned to the sound of the voice and saw Bolzan walking towards them.

"Ha! I can't write lyrics for my life, Bolzan. How're we going to write a ballad?" Lightning retorted. Bolzan shrugged.

"I don't know. I've never made a song or poem before, either." They looked at Evans, who looked at them tenderly.

"It'll come naturally to both of you. Especially since you're both my successors." She turned to Bolzan.

"Bolzan, my ballad shall be Albida's lullaby, just like how my mother's was mine." He nodded and left the field in a flash of light. Evans turned to lightning next.

"Lightning, please carry the legacy of the Feymark through family or acquaintance. My ballad shall be your guiding light for the other Feymark." Lightning agreed and she, too, vanished in a burst of light.

Evans was left alone in the field. Would they believe it was a dream, she wondered aloud as she thought of her mother's own ballad.

The dragoness shut her eyes and watched as Bolzan and Lightning fidgeted in their sleep. Albida was whimpering slightly, the way he usually did when he had a nightmare.

"Don't forget me, my hatchling." And she began singing her final lullaby for her child before fading into a flurry of tulip petals carried away by the wind, into the waxing crescent that hung overhead.

In her fading voice, she echoed the final verse of her mother's ballad:

_This is not the end of my time,_

_it is merely the beginning of another life._

_Stay safe, stay strong, my hatchling._

_Forevermore, you shall shine._


	12. Chapter 12: New Family

"One last thing, Bolzan…"

"Yeah?"

"I didn't show Albida Evans' crystal yet."

"Why not?"

Lightning didn't reply and merely watched the snoozing hatchling curled up against Bolzan's belly.

"With that eye, I thought it'd be better if someone else came with me. You were unconscious for several hours, after all."

Bolzan nodded and watched the hatchling as well. Albida was whimpering softly, kicking his hind legs ever so slightly as if he were having a nightmare.

"I guess you made the right choice; any more trauma might've made him go… berserk and, trust me, that is _not_ something you want to see." He nuzzled the hatchling gently, feeling the tension that thrummed throughout his little body. Albida relaxed a little and stopped whimpering. However, the tension was still very evident, like he knew something had gone wrong.

After several minutes, Albida finally woke up, chirping sleepily as he stretched his stiff limbs.

"Good morning…" He yawned as Bolzan lifted him up, patting him on the back. His stomach rumbled and Albida asked for food. Both adults looked at each other nervously, pondering whether they should tell him.

"Where's Mama?" Albida casted his gaze around the cave, looking for his mother's red scales.

"Umm… she's in your room…" Lightning nudged Bolzan when he said that, watching him angrily. "What? It's not wrong, is it?" He mouthed in reply.

"I wanna see Mama!" Albida whined as he tried to squirm out of Bolzan's grasp. Granted, his paw was injured, but he admirably soldiered through the pain to keep a tight hold on Albida. He was wincing as Albida fidgeted about, scales rubbing painfully on the raw flesh.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and he set the hatchling down, shaking his injured paw as if to shake off the stinging pain. Almost immediately, Albida sped off towards the other room as Lightning chased him, trying her best to catch the excited hatchling.

"He's fast for his age…" She panted as she ran down the corridor, afraid to see his reaction.

She nearly tripped over the hatchling, whom had just stopped at the entrance abruptly.

Admittedly, Lightning had yet to see Evans' crystal herself but she had already seen enough to know what to expect.

Her crystal was in the corner of the destroyed room. Bottles, diapers and rocks were strewn across the room and there were definitely blood streaks around the room. It was splashed haphazardly in long lines and there was a large splash of blood, as if Evans had dragged herself to the corner. Her pose only confirmed the fact.

She was lying down on her side with a massive gash across her belly and ribbons of crystal had splayed out of the wound, twirling themselves around her strangely serene figure in delicate twists. Her eyes were closed and her expression was that of one who had just come to terms with the end of her life. Her wings were folded up; wrapping themselves protectively around her body as if to preserve what warmth remained in her dying body.

The eerie silence was accentuated with Albida's strangely quiet form as he walked over to Evans' side and placed a paw onto the cold crystal. He looked at Lightning with an inscrutable expression.

"Why's Mama so cold?"

Lightning didn't know how to answer this question and merely walked over to the hatchling, patting him on the head tenderly.

They shared the silence for a moment as they looked at each other in the eye.

"What happened to Mama?" He asked after a while as Lightning looked down on the floor, unwilling to break the truth to the child.

"Is Mama… dead?" Albida had tears forming in the corner of his eyes as lightning drew him into a hug.

"… Yes, Albida." She held the child tightly and, almost immediately, felt that something was wrong.

"No" The determination in his voice scared Lightning and she held on tighter, afraid that he might lose control.

"Mama's not dead. She can't be." Lightning felt the anger build up in the hatchling.

"Albida…"

"NO!" He screamed and a blast of darkness knocked Lightning back. As she scrambled to her feet, she saw that Albida's ye was burning with the same black fire she saw Bolzan use a couple of days ago. He was crying what seemed to be blood as he got up, grinding his teeth angrily. She grew her gunblade and ducked down as another blast rippled through the room.

"Albida! Calm down!" She shouted even though she knew he couldn't hear her in his blind rage. Heck, she couldn't even hear herself _think_ in the shadowy maelstrom that had ripped through the room.

"NO! I WANT MAMA!" He screamed loudly, causing the storm to escalate in strength and size. The darkness wrapped itself around the hatchling, encasing him in the inky blackness like a cloak. He flicked his paw and multiple claws shot out, each easily as long as Lightning's gunblade.

Lightning felt something pull her shoulder and jerk her back. For a brief moment, she saw a flash of white scales as Bolzan walked calmly into the room with the same black flame burning around his left eye, only it was far brighter and larger than Albida's had been.

He walked into the maelstrom calmly, watching the dark being rage near Evans' crystal as he walked closer, unfazed by the objects being tossed around the room haphazardly.

He reached the shadowy form and it looked at Bolzan, bloodlust raging through its bloody eyes as it tried to swipe at Bolzan, snarling angrily.

Bolzan dodged the consecutive strikes easily, showing no signs of weakness that would've been the case with the number of wounds that marred his body.

A quick duck and leap later, he was behind Albida, between him and his mother. This angered him further and, with a roar, let out a x-shaped blade of darkness. Bolzan deflected it easily and calmly with a flick of his paw. It disintegrated, missing Evans' crystal and Bolzan's body as it cut into the wall behind.

After that barrage of attacks, Bolzan snatched out with a paw and grabbed the hatchling by the throat.

The hatchling thrashed and fought to break out of the grasp, letting out plumes of black flames around the room. Bolzan let Albida rage for a moment, easily deflecting the flames with his own.

When Albida finally tired out, Bolzan lifted the shadowy child to his eye level and glared at him angrily. For some reason, this scared Albida greatly and he quietened down, trembling from fear.

"Do you think you have the right to get this angry?" The quiet anger in his voice scared even Lightning, who was standing at the entrance, pink hair blown across her face from the storm. She had never seen Bolzan this angry before.

"M-Mama…" He stuttered before being cut off by Bolzan.

"Is dead. You can't change that fact, Albida. Stop this before you really hurt someone." He watched placidly as the shadows slowly dissipated into the maelstrom, which was slowing down as well until there wasn't a breath of wind in the nursery.

Both of the flames went out and Albida broke down, burying his tear-streaked muzzle into Bolzan's chest, wailing and blubbering loudly as Bolzan stroked him on the back. He looked at lightning and motioned her over.

"Is there anything you can do?" Bolzan asked as he comforted the heartbroken infant. Lightning had recovered with admirable speed and nodded calmly.

"Give me a second." She placed her gloved hand over her l'cie brand and it shone brightly. Moments later, a young 17-year old girl appeared before them, shimmering bright yellow. She was dressed in a tribal outfit as she surveyed the room. Bolzan didn't recognize her but Lightning seemed to know it was.

"What happened here, Light?" The girl asked, surveying the destroyed room.

"Nothing much, Vanille…" Bolzan was shocked at this revelation.

"Wait, this is Vanille?" He exclaimed, nearly dropping the sobbing hatchling.

"Yep! Aww… Did something happen to the little guy?" She placed a shining hand on Albida's back and he looked up, watching the ethereal apparition with a pair of blood-stained eyes before ducking back into Bolzan's chest, no longer sobbing.

"See, that's the reason why I called you, Vanille. I'm sorry about your eidolon…" Lightning sheathed her gunblade, crossing her arms.

"It's alright! Anyway, what do you need me to do?" She looked at the crystal statue of the dragon, then to the hatchling and the older dragon and finally to Lightning.

"You know about l'cie transfer, right?" Lightning asked, shocking Vanille.

"Do you want a second l'cie brand? There's no way I'm doing that, Light!" Lightning shook her head and pointed to Albida.

"No. However, I think he should have one. I know how memories are transferred when the brand is moved form one to another."

"And you want me to place the crystal dragon's brand to the little one? Why?"

Lightning looked at Albida, who was now asleep from the exhaustion brought on by the excessive use on his abilities.

"I don't want him to forget about his mother. Also, I realized he hasn't being using anything like fire or lightning or anything whatsoever." Bolzan nodded and walked over, acknowledging Vanille with a nod.

"That's right. I think Malefor's tampering messed up his elements somehow…"

"Who's Malefor?" Lightning cut in abruptly.

"You don't need to know. Anyway, I think the reason he can't use any elements, save shadow and light, is thanks to Malefor messing with him." He bounced the hatchling slightly when he whimpered.

"So, in addition to giving him memories about Evans, his mother, we're giving him his elements at the same time." Lightning finished and she turned to Vanille, who was deep in thought.

"You do know it'll hurt him a lot, right?" Lightning nodded in reply. Bolzan seemed concerned from the way he drew the hatchling closer to his body protectively.

"It's a necessary pain, I guess." Lightning reasoned to the concerned guardian of the hatchling. Reluctantly, Bolzan agreed and Vanille nodded.

"Alright, then! I guess I'll do it now, if you don't mind…" Vanille's shimmering form walked over to the crystal and placed a hand atop the l'cie brand. A bright glow emanated throughout the room and, when it dimmed, Vanille was holding a red crystalline tulip in her hands.

"Hold on to him tightly, now!" Bolzan nodded and turned Albida outwards, supporting his back as Vanille moved closer with the crystal.

"Sorry, Albida…" Bolzan muttered as Vanille nodded to him. He winced at the cries of pain as the tulip assimilated with the hatchling, sinking into his chest where his heart would be. Thankfully, it was over in a couple of seconds. However, the pain didn't abate as quickly and Albida was screaming bloody murder as the brand formed itself onto the hatchling.

Interestingly, as soon as the brand appeared, it vanished. Vanille then proceeded to tell, shout, them that this was normal.

"Also, he won't get all of her abilities. Only those that would fit him best!" She explained as Bolzan rocked the screaming hatchling in an effort to calm Albida down. It wasn't working.

"I guess that means he'll get some earth powers. In Avalar, green dragons tend to be able to use earth or poison." Bolzan deduced over the ear-piercing screams.

"Se also seemed to be more of a Ravager that a Saboteur." Lightning noted as she placed her hand onto Albida's chest.

"Will he be alright, Vanille?" Vanille nodded and grinned.

"Don't worry, Light, he'll be fine! You really sound like a mother, you know!"" She waved goodbye and vanished in a flash of light, leaving the three on them alone in the nursery, Lightning cursing softly.

Bolzan couldn't help but snort at the statement as he cradled the now-whimpering Albida.

"It hurts, Bolzan…"

"I know, but that's normal." He nuzzled the hatchling. "You were really brave just now."

Albida sniffled and smiled weakly.

Suddenly, Lightning pushed the two of them to the ground and, with a flash of her gunblade, felled something large behind them. Before the two dragons could turn to see what it was, Lightning grabbed them and literally pulled them out of the room in a hurry.

"What was that, Lightning?" Bolzan asked when they were in the main cave once more.

"A cie'th. Let's get back to the ruins." Without another word, she leapt off and landed on her steed.

Bolzan and Albida looked back, wanting to see what it was, but thought better of it and they leapt off the ledge as well. Albida was cradled in Bolzan's arm and they were chasing Lightning.

Moments later, they caught up and she slowed down to a canter.

They cruised side-by-side for a while until Albida asked Bolzan where he'd stay now. He sniffed and a tear drop fell from his eye, plopping onto his chest. Bolzan wiped Albida's eyes and comforted him.

"Your Mama told me that, if she left, you'd have to stay with me." Albida looked extremely sad and forlorn when he heard this.

"I want to be with Mama…" He sniffled and seemed to be on the verge of tears. Bolzan held him close and let the hatchling sob as he focused on flying to keep the tears at bay.

After a while, he realized that Albida had fallen asleep and he turned to Lightning, who was intent on the road ahead.

"Lightning?" She remained silent at Bolzan's question.

"Was the cie'th… Evans?" She still maintained her silence, looking away from Bolzan. He got the hint and nodded sadly, glad that Albida didn't know. Some things were better left unsaid, he thought as they headed towards the ruins.

"Dada…" He heard Albida mutter and it took a while for Bolzan to realize that the hatchling was referring to him. He hugged Albida closer to shield him from the biting winds.

"Don't worry, Albida. Dada's here… I'll protect you, even if it casts me my life…"


	13. Chapter 13: Cause and Consequence

A somber silence fell over the travelers as they headed back towards the ruins. The route seemed infinitely further than it had been when they left earlier that day. Wing beat after wing beat, gallop after gallop; they slowly neared the stone ruins that loomed in the distance.

Bolzan adjusted Albida, who was resting on his back, and walked in first, followed closely by Lightning.

The first sight they saw when they entered was Lazarus bearing down on Ignitus, whose jaws were dripping blood. Lazarus had a manic look in his face and was firing blasts of ice after the fleeing Chronicler. Ignitus retaliated with his own bouts of fire as Lazarus took to the air, barely dodging the bright flames. Lazarus, now airborne, circled Ignitus, dodging bursts of fire from the disadvantaged Chronicler, before diving down, pinning Ignitus by the neck on the ground, throwing up a large cloud of dust.

"Ignitus!" Lightning shouted before leaping into the fray. Bolzan, with a snoozing Albida in tow, didn't interfere from the shock of what was happening and merely stood there, jaws agape.

As the dust cleared, Lightning had Lazarus pinned down by his left forepaw with her gunblade as she held a ball of lightning in her raised hand.

"What are you doing, Lightning? I'm not the one who killed Fang!" Lightning's heart dropped like a stone when she heard that and the lightning increased in strength, doubling in size as her hand trembled in grief.

"… What did you say?" She brought the electricity closer the Lazarus' belly. The lightning arced to the scales and, to his credit, Lazarus didn't flinch as his scales blackened and burned.

"You heard him, Lightning. Fang's dead. By his hand, no doubt." Ignitus got up, coughing, and went over to the incapacitated Lazarus.

"He's lying! Lightning, don't believe what he's saying!" Lazarus roared, trying to get back up. Lightning's gunblade held him painfully in place and he fell back down, growling angrily. "You fool…"

"Why should I believe you, Lazarus? It's not like I can trust you any more than I can trust him…" She whispered, delivering a kick across Lazarus' jaws with her boots. His neck cricked painfully and, to her surprise, he grinned, revealing rows of bloodied fangs.

"What are you smiling at?" She raised her leg, about to stomp that grin off his face, when Ignitus held her back with his tail.

"Please, allow me. We wouldn't want to get your boots bloody now, would we?" Lightning hesitated for a moment before setting down her foot with a loud stomp.

"Fine."

Lazarus spat out a bloody fang and turned to look at Bolzan, who was watching the proceedings placidly, before looking back at Lightning and Ignitus. Ignitus brought down his mechanical paw onto Lazarus' neck, cutting off his air supply, slowly choking him. If Lazarus was in any agony, he didn't show it as Ignitus forced the air out of him.

"Sorry, my friend, but this is what happens to traitors…" Ignitus pressed down harder and Lazarus' scales paled.

"Ha! You're one to say that, Ignitus; or should I say…" His words were cut short when Ignitus brought up a flaming drill that was attached to his tail and slowly brought it closer to Lazarus' forehead, all the while increasing the pressure on the hapless dragon's throat.

"Too late for last words, Lazarus. You should've used them to apologise to Fang…" Lightning remarked coldly as the drill was brought closer to his head. She twisted her gunblade and heard a bone snap as Lazarus winced. His features were illuminated by the flames that coated the drill and, for some reason, they angered lightning greatly.

"Lightning!" She froze.

A familiar mechanical dragon ran in. Though she was battered and broken, fang still seemed to be in good order apart from the torn off arm where the joint was spilling sparks across the ground, crackling as they made contact with the dust that coated the ground.

"F-Fang?" Lightning stammered, quite unlike her usual, confident self.

Bolzan ran in behind her with a very bewildered Albida perched atop his head, sleepily looking around before resting his head back onto Bolzan's, grumbling.

Before she could react, Ignitus drove the drill into Lazarus' skull. As the flesh sizzled, Lazarus snorted happily before his eyes glazed over, dead.

"Why'd you do that, Ignitus?" Lightning watched as he withdrew his tail and turned to the shocked group.

"Well… We can't have him attempting murder again, can we?" He replied nonchalantly.

Suddenly, Fang collapsed with a death rattle as the lights that served as her eyes flickered out. Lightning rushed over to her friend as Ignitus looked at Bolzan, who was strangely silent this whole time.

"You ran to get her?" He asked. Bolzan nodded as he took Albida off his head and cradled him protectively.

"There's no need to be so scared, Bolzan. It's just me, Ignitus…"

"You're not Ignitus."

The certainty in Bolzan's words merely made him snort derisively as he looked from the corpse at his paws to Lightning and, finally, to Bolzan, who was regarding him with skeptical eyes.

"And your proof is…?" Ignitus asked, completely relaxed. Bolzan grinned and snorted.

"Just a hunch."

Lightning looked up, maintaining her composure as she watched the sole survivor with Bolzan at the doorway.

Without another word, she was swept up by Bolzan and they shot off into the black sky.

Ignitus stood there and watched them fly off, chuckling. He lifted Lazarus' head up by the jaw and looked into his lifeless eyes.

"I win, Lazarus." He whispered ominously, throwing the head back to the ground with a sickening crunch.

"Some Champions… Running away like that. Pathetic." He muttered as he stalked off into the hallway. He headed down a flight of stairs, deep into the bowel of the corrupted lands.

As he descended the steps, the torches that lined the walls flickered on, bathing the steps with a warm, flickering radiance.

At the foot of the steps, he spat the blood out of his mouth and whispered to the stone door. It slid open noiselessly as it sunk into the ground, revealing a large room with a large piece of machinery at the end. The walls were carved with sigils and insignias and the machine itself was made of stone. When Ignitus neared, the dials and buttons lit up and the sigils ran with a reddish light, spreading from the machine itself.

"Oh well. Not that they'd be of any consequence." Ignitus sighed as he breathed flames over the carved stone. The light intensified and a loud creaking could be heard as time worn gears grounded to life.

At the same Ignitus' wings grew darker and darker until they wee almost completely black. He reared up or, rather, _stood_up on his hind legs as he stretched, no unlike a hominid. The dragon shell burned off in a black flame as his eyes glowed bright yellow, pupils narrowed to slits. His fangs lengthened and he looked less dragon-like with every passing second. His tail shrank into his back and he gained demonic claws that clacked together as he flexed his hand, testing the muscles and bones.

"Finally, I'm fully rested!" The beast that was once Ignitus roared, sending dust floating to the ground from the walls and ceiling on the room, which his new head nearly reached.

As the ancient machinery wound into life, "Ignitus" looked around and grinned, revealing irregular, sharp fangs.

"Haha… Both worlds shall tremble before my reborn might when I exact my vengeance on the accursed Feymark…"

"The worlds shall tremble at my feet. They shall fall before the heavy hand of Gigas!" The tremors strengthened at his proclamation as the ruins rose out of the ground.

Apparently, the part of the ruins that was visible was merely a fraction of the entire malevolent structure. Spires rose out of the white earth and a bastion erupted from the ground. It expanded rapidly once freed of its earthen confines. Palisades erupted from the roof and wing-like protrusions extended from the walls. From the tallest tower, chains shot out with massive anchors at the ends, stabbing into the ground, launching house-sized boulders into the air.

A hellish fortress stood where the ruins once were with a plateau on the top that held a throne. Gigas was seated on the throne, surveying the landscape when he spotted a small figure flying off into the distance and he chuckled. It was a deep, treacherous sound that rang across the landscape.

"The new world I'm about to create shall have no mercy on those three… Run. Run while you can…"

It was still dark when Bolzan touched down in the ravines. As soon as he touched down, he collapsed from exhaustion as Albida dozed on his head, unaware of what had just happened.

"Next time, Lightning, call your freakin' eidolons… I AM NOT GOING TO CARRY YOU. AGAIN." He panted pathetically as Lightning looked at the fortress, newly raised from the ground.

"Lightning? You alright?" Bolzan asked, more calmly this time around. She turned and walked back before giving him a kick across the jaw, much like how she kicked Lazarus. Albida tumbled off his head and began whimpering as Bolzan righted his head painfully.

"What was that for?" He growled as he patted Albida, trying to calm him down.

"You idiot! If you knew he wasn't Ignitus. You should've told me! I could've taken him down just now!"

"Lightning…"

"And now the worlds are screwed up because of us! I can't believe…"

"Lightning."

"WHAT?"

She got her answer as the ground trembled and split open as a spire of glowing crystals and rocks erupted from the earth, coating the three of them in cerulean light, waking Albida.

"Nnn… Dada, what that?" He rubbed his eyes and buried his head into Bolzan's chest. "So bright…"

"Albida. Wake up for a moment, alright?" He gently tapped the hatchling's shoulder and Albida looked up, squinting irritably.

"What is that thing?" Lightning asked as she moved to touch it. It felt mildly warm and familiar.

"I think it's connected to our worlds, Light… Try etching stuff onto it!"

"Are you crazy? What if it ends up killing us?" She responded angrily.

"I think it's linked to Gran Pulse, Lightning. Maybe you'll be able to communicate with your friends back there!" Without hesitation, she began etching a message with her gunblade, occasionally corrected by Bolzan.

When she was done and asleep, Bolzan walked over with Albida and placed a paw onto its surface. Albida watched and mimicked him.

"… Maybe it leads back to Avalar…" he began etching his own words onto the crystalline structure, pausing when Albida yawned sleepily, before continuing with his writing.

Something in his writings made him make a very stupid decision and he rested Albida against Lightning before flying off towards the fortress.

"I'll be back soon, guys…"


	14. Chapter 14: Different, Yet Identical

"Cynder!" Spyro panted as he stepped in. As much as he was glad to see his kids, he had more important things to discuss with Cynder.

"Oh! Spyro, you're back! How's Warfang holding up?" Spyro called her to their room, away from their curious kids' ears, and shut the door, bolting it shut.

"What's going on, dear?" Cynder asked, concerned at Spyro's frazzled appearance.

"There was a … big crystal…but that's not really… important…" He was barely able to make any coherent sentences thanks to his marathon flight back but Cynder seemed to understand.

"Will Warfang be alright?" Spyro nodded before relating to her about what he had learned about Bolzan's whereabouts. Admittedly, it wasn't much.

On the crystal… writings… probably from… Bolzan… Oh, God, I'm tired…" He panted, collapsing onto the bed. Cynder nuzzled his belly and he nuzzled back.

"Thanks, Cyn."

"Don't worry, it's alright. Do you want to rest before telling me everything?"

"Don't worry, I feel better already." He laughed and sat back up, barely panting.

"Anyway… I'm pretty sure Bolzan tried to contact us through writing, wherever he is. Cynder, we have to find him!" Cynder was about to reply when the ground began rumbling. The house shook, dislodging books from the shelves and knocking down several keepsakes. They looked outside and saw the grassy earth being torn asunder by an unseen force.

"Whoa…" Arashi gaped, jaws literally dropping to the ground as she ran out just in time to see a massive spire rise from the ground.

"What is that thing?" Neve asked as their parents came out and stood next to them.

"It's a rock…" Ferno muttered, rolling his eyes. His smart comment was met with a tail-smack to the back of his head by Neve and he grinned "What? I'm not wrong, am I? It IS a rock, isn't it?"

Neve just glared at him angrily.

"This is the same as the one that erupted in Warfang! Maybe… Ah! There it is!" Spyro circled the structure and, finding the etchings, beckoned his family over.

"That's from Bolzan?" Noctis asked skeptically as he sniffed the glowing crystals. They didn't smell funny but there was something very wrong about them. Very, very wrong…

"Yes, I'm pretty sure it is." Spyro replied, taking in the luminescent crystals that made up half the spire.

"So… he's still alive?" Cynder ran her claw across the carvings. They weren't really carved in. It looked more like a copy of the original one.

"Looks like it." Spyro replied, noticing another set of etchings. These seemed to be from some sort of blade and they didn't seem to be directed at them. They didn't even seem to look very hopeful.

"We have to find him!" Ferno shouted, anxiously sniffing the air as if to find Bolzan by scent.

"Like father, like son, eh? That's the same thing I told your mother, you know!" Spyro grinned and stopped Ferno's actions with a playful nip to the snout. Ferno grinned back and nodded.

"I don't know… maybe we should wait. This seems really dangerous, Spyro." Cynder reasoned, even though she knew it wouldn't change her husband's resolve. Oh well, at least she tried.

"I'll go and find him, Cynder. The rest of you, stay here and wait for me, alright?" Spyro took off, not leaving any room for argument.

"Your father… Always doing stupid things like that." Cynder sighed and looked at his fast vanishing form.

"We're still going to follow him, aren't we?" Arashi said, raring to go. Cynder smiled and licked her daughter.

"Of course. If I wanted to follow someone's orders all day, I'd rather stay with Malefor! Come on, let's go and make sure he doesn't get himself killed." Cynder took to the air and hovered for a moment, waiting for her children to take to the air.

"Huh. Déjà vu, Mom." Noctis noted and he took off as well, chasing their father's distant shadow.

* * *

><p>"Sazh!" Serah shouted as she walked into the aviator's home. It was well-decorated and homely with a nice view of the sea from its hallway. Much of the metals that had formed the original home had been replaced with more up-to-date materials like carbon nanotube reinforced fiberglass paneling and holo-image windows that dimmed in the morning and lit up the surrounding darkness at night.<p>

"'Sup, Serah! How's finding Lightning going?" He chuckled and got up. His coat was more or less the same as his old one with the notable exception of a slightly dull medal. It didn't seem like much but it was proof that he was a certified flier of the Sanctum Type-18 Reconnaissance/Air Assault Vehicle or, as he liked to call it, "GOD I'M GOING TO DIE!" thanks to its extremely twitchy controls and high speeds. Until he got a new air vehicle, he'd have to face the possibility of death whenever he steeped into it. I spite of that, he was still pretty fond of it.

"I think we may have a lead, Sazh." Snow replied almost nonchalantly as he fell onto the couch, lazily popping open a canned drink that was left unattended on the coffee table. He took a long sip and, satisfied with the flavor, swallowed the mouthful, letting out a loud burp.

"Uncle Snow!" Dajh came running in and Snow got up, ruffling his hair happily.

"Hey, Dajh!"

"Not too long, Dajh. It's past your bedtime, you know!" Sazh warned and he invited Serah in. She sat down on the couch next to Snow and nearly fell asleep on his shoulders before she was jolted awake by her fiancé.

"So, you were sayin' about Lightning?" Sazh asked, handing her a drink. She accepted but didn't drink it, placing it in the coffee table as she told him about what she saw in the Mah'habara.

"So, let me get this straight… Lightning's been writing on this crystal in the caves? What, she's like some sort of cave man or something? I'd better check this out tomorrow. You wanna come along, guys?"

They agreed and left his abode, heading for their own.

As they walked across the beaches of New Oerba and took in the sea breeze, Serah leaned against Snow's chest, sighing.

"I hope she's alright…" She closed her eyes and walked, trusting Snow's sense of direction.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine! She's Lightning, you know. She's not going down without a fight!" He comforted his concerned fiancée as they walked along the sandy bar. She opened her eyes and looked at the moon, shining across the ocean, a beacon for lost souls searching for a safe refuge.

"I wonder if she can see the same moon as us. It's so beautiful… Sis, we're going to get you home soon. I promise." She looked hopefully at Snow, who was also watching the moon hanging silently in the nighttime sky.

"You are one crazy woman, Light. Where've you gone to?" he muttered as they watched the moon together, listening to the waves crash upon the shore and recede into the vastness of the ocean, only to return once again.


	15. Chapter 15: Crippled

"So… He's up there, is he?" Bolzan remarked as he circled the massive fortress. He glided down in wide circles, keeping a safe distance from the looming structure. Even from this distance, the building was massive, easily as large as a mountain. Spires like the one he had seen had already begun bursting forth from the ground nearby, each exuding the same cool glow, bathing the landscape in azure light. The plateau atop the mountainous bastion held a throne-like structure and the beast that had once been Ignitus sat on the black seat.

On closer inspection, Bolzan noted that there was a veil of indistinct shadows flitting about the building like flies, lending the impression that the fortress was larger than it appeared. Even so, through the misty darkness, it was pretty impressive, towering over the featureless plains. Gnarled spires of black stone pierced through the mist, reaching out to grasp the black orb that hung in the air to pull it into its cavernous maw.

For a brief moment, Bolzan thought of turning back, fearing the fate that might befall on his rash decision. His wings twitched at the thought and he turned back towards the mountains where Lightning and Albida were at.

"Come on, Bolzan… You can do this. Don't be such a wuss!" Steeling himself, Bolzan turned once again to the fortress and, after a moment of consideration, dived into the spiraling shadows.

When he breached the barrier, memories of his tortured past came rushing into his mind, forcing him out of the barrier subconsciously.

"Okay… This is going to be tougher than I thought…" He circled to the top of the fortress, directly above the throne, and dropped out of the air with his wings folded, shutting his eyes and mind to the best of his ability.

Moments later, he was through. The winds had pushed him towards the middle of the plateau a little and he landed without a hitch, spreading out his wings to slow his descent. His mind still throbbed from the mental images being transmitted from the hellish winds.

"I see you've come to challenge me, mortal." A deep, booming voice emanated from above Bolzan and he looked up to find a black monster looming above him. Bolzan leapt back and bared his fangs defensively, growling.

"What happened to Ignitus?" He asked, taking in his opponent's features carefully. The being was demon-like in form, with dragon wings and massive fangs. It had a pair of curled horns and ominous, glowing eyes that held nothing but death and destruction. It was wearing nothing but a loincloth as it crossed its muscular arms. Tied around his waist was a pair of blades, each larger than Bolzan himself. None of the weapons in his armory held a candle to those two blades.

"He's not here, you fool. Didn't you realize that by now?" The monster snorted, sending chills down Bolzan's spine.

"What happened to him?" Bolzan persisted as his opponent glared menacingly at him.

"Not even asking me for my name? Don't worry, I don't mind. You'll learn it soon enough…" In a flash, the monster appeared directly in front of him and, before Bolzan could react, he'd already snatched the dragon up by his wings, holding Bolzan up in front of his face.

Struggling to break out of its iron grip, Bolzan let loose with a blast of Hellfire and tried to call his armor. Disturbingly, it didn't come forth when he willed it to. Even more disturbingly, the monster seemed unaffected by the shadowy flames, merely grinning evilly as the flames dissipated from its face, leaving no mark whatsoever.

"Naïve fool… Your last hope was Lazarus and, just like that, you had a paw in his death. Face it, Bolzan, you and Lightning caused all this to happen. Accept it, Bolzan." The beast walked back to his throne and, after finding a suitable leghold, steadied itself against the throne. Bolzan turned and looked into the eyes of his captor and grinned before spitting a glob of liquid Bifrost into its eye. Though it didn't even flinch, Bolzan felt a great sense of satisfaction from that gesture.

"Sorry, but I have no plans to give up as of yet. I have a family to return to in Avalar." For some reason, Bolzan felt incredibly weak and his struggles grew weaker and weaker.

"I've grown tired of you, Bolzan. Maybe flight is too much of a privilege for you…"

"What?" Bolzan struggled even more but, though his mind told him to fight for his life, his body didn't respond and he remained frozen from a strange exhaustion that had settled over him like a fog.

"Also, remember the name "Gigas", it'll be the last thing you hear…" Bolzan felt a pulling sensation in his left wing but he was far too exhausted to rebel against the demonic might.

"Keep up the good work, my liege. Keep on slaying those Shadows and you'll bring the worlds to a swift end." The pulling sensation intensified and pain began to set in on the wing joint.

Through the blinding pain, Bolzan could see that it was a _very_ long drop to the ground.

"Good bye, Bolzan."

There was a loud ripping sound and Bolzan nearly blacked out from the pain. Ribbons of crimson arced through the air and the last thing Bolzan saw was Gigas standing there with his severed wing, which twitched a little from the dying muscles, before he plummeted into the nightmarish gales, mocking his failure.

It took him awhile to realize he was crying, just before he fainted from the mental and physical overload. He didn't even open his eyes when he felt something snatch him from the air, far too absorbed in his horrible recollections such that he was whimpering and sobbing like a newly hatched hatchling.

* * *

><p>Lightning awoke to movement on her chest. She opened her gummy eyes and noticed Albida leaning on her, stirring a little as she stirred.<p>

She looked around. The glowing obelisk still remained but Bolzan was missing. She glanced around and caught a glimpse of a shadow fast disappearing into the distance in the direction of the fortress.

Initially, she dismissed it as being a bird or something until she remembered there weren't any birds whatsoever in The Betwixt.

"That idiot…" She got up and roused Albida who whined until he noticed Bolzan was missing.

"Where's Dada?" He asked innocently as Lightning piggy-backed him. She had never done this in her life and found it fairly annoying when the hatchling leaned on the crown of her head as Albida tried to find a comfortable spot.

She didn't reply and instead summoned Odin, who was already in gestalt mode. She hopped on and sped off towards the fortress.

"Trying to take on Gigas by himself… He'll get himself killed." She seethed as the two of them rode over the plains.

"Who's Gigas? Where're we going?" Albida bombarded Lightning with inane questions and she remembered how annoying it was to take care of a young child, let alone an infant.

"Albida, try to recall who's Gigas. I don't have time to answer your questions." She replied as patiently as possible. Her answer seemed to pacify Albida and he quietened down, deep in thought.

She reached the foot of the fortress after a couple of minutes and just managed to catch a glimpse of Bolzan disappearing into the winds that swept around the fortress. She muttered an expletive under her breath and tried to pass through the winds, leaving Albida with Odin, who was keeping the hatchling occupied.

Almost immediately, her mind was filled with disturbing mental images that came in an unstoppable torrent. Memories that weren't her own rushed in, shadowing all other thoughts, leaving nothing but nightmares in its wake.

She stepped back out, reeling, and glanced upwards. Bolzan had also shot out and was now heading upwards, disappearing into the nighttime sky.

"Lightning?" She leapt atop Odin, placing Albida back onto her back. "Where's Dada going?"

"I don't know. Why do you call him "Dada", anyway?" Lightning asked back and Albida was silenced once again.

Relieved that she had time to think, Lightning slowly trotted around the fortress, thinking of what Bolzan could be doing in there.

"I guess he wants to make it up to me and his world… idiot." She reasoned and stopped her trot. It'd take forever to circle the massive structure.

Suddenly, she saw some movement in the storm and glanced up, just in time to see a figure plummet from the top.

Without hesitation, she galloped and leapt, just in time to catch the figure in Odin's jaws.

"Dada!" Albida cried out when he saw Bolzan being flipped onto Odin's back, between the steed's head and Lightning. He was in terrible shape, whimpering and sobbing as he curled up into a fetal position.

However, the main thing that scared them was the absence of his left wings, with only a bloody stump as a reminder of the limb. Blood flowed from the open wound and fragments of bone peeked out of the ragged flesh.

"... What did you get yourself into, Bolzan?" She muttered as Odin galloped back to their makeshift camp, with her Medic abilities, she managed to close up the wound somewhat. The bone, however, couldn't be helped and it pierced through the regenerated flesh.

"W-What happened?" Albida stuttered, terrified. He hopped down and began licking Bolzan's face, willing him to wake up.

"Let's get back to the camp first, Albida…" She whispered, watching the mountains close in gradually.

"I-Is Dada going to…" Albida sobbed as he looked from Lightning to Bolzan. She looked downwards and saw tears forming at the corners of Albida's eyes. Tenderly, she wiped them away and comforted him, saying that Bolzan would be alright, even though she was unsure of his fate.

Albida curled up against Bolzan's chest and Lightning heard soft sobbing come from the hatchling as they galloped across the wastelands.

* * *

><p>Back at the camp, Albida looked up and regarded Lightning with bloodstained eyes.<p>

"L-Lightning?"

"Yes?"

"Y-You asked why I call him Dada…"

Lightning sat down and picked up Albida, seating him on her lap.

"So, do you have an answer?" Albida sniffled and nodded.

"B-Because he protects me… makes me feel… safe…"

"What about me, then?"

Though Lightning asked her question as a joke, she noticed that Albida blushed and looked down shyly.

"I-I…"

"Don't worry, you don't have to answer that. You belong with Bolzan and he's your family. Nothing's going to change that fact, Albida." She hugged the hatchling warmly.

"Do you want to sleep with him?" Albida nodded and buried his head into Lightning's chest.

She walked over and leaned against Bolzan's belly, feeling his shallow and labored breathing normalize as she and Albida rested against him.

"He sees you as his father, you know." She whispered to the unconscious Bolzan, unsure whether he could hear her. "Congratulations, you idiot." And she, too, dozed off under the black sky.

Before she fell asleep, she heard Bolzan mumble, barely audible to her ears.

"… Family…"


	16. Chapter 16: New Arrivals

The first thing Bolzan awoke to was a burning pain across his back. Without exaggeration, it felt like someone was taking a nail, hammering it into his wing, pulling it back out again, pouring rubbing alcohol over it and, finally, rubbing it with metal wool. It hurt that bad

He whipped his head around to find a bloody stump where his left wing had once been. He tried to twitch it, wincing from the pain. Apparently, it had been repaired somewhat, from the scar-like skin that covered the wound. Bone peeked out through the flesh and it twitched painfully when he tried to move it.

He dropped his head onto the ground again, depressed and disappointed at himself.

"You're awake."

He didn't move at Lightning's voice. Even when Albida toddled over and licked his face, he didn't budge.

"Dada?"

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. Seeing them, the pain of his crippling wound was lessened, replaced by a sinking disappointment. He felt tired, very tired, and just wanted to sleep. Preferably for all eternity.

Once again, he was jolted awake by an even more searing agony where his stump was. He whipped his head around and found Albida licking the wound and he growled angrily. Albida slipped off his back and snuggled up against Bolzan's face.

"Dada feeling better?" He seemed oblivious to Bolzan's pain and was snuggling up against his adoptive father tenderly.

The sinking depression intensified and he slumped back to the ground.

"Oh, grow up, Bolzan, you couldn't have beaten him." Lightning said, kneeling in front of the depressed dragon.

"So?" He growled irritably.

"So… It's not your fault, Bolzan." Lightning stroked his head, jerking her hand away when Bolzan snapped at it, growling.

"Hey! Stop being such a jerk!" She got up and turned to the fortress. Overnight, more spires had erupted around the building, littering the landscape.

"I think I have the right to act however I want, Lightning…" Bolzan growled miserably, wiggling his stump to reinforce the point.

"Dada angry?" Albida looked very concerned and piled himself on top of Bolzan's head, only serving to annoy him more.

"Get off!" Bolzan roared and Albida clambered off, squeaking in fear, into Lightning's arms.

"What was that for?" Lightning shouted, cradling the terrified hatchling.

"What was saving me for? I should've died there and then, Light! Do you know how much of a pain it is to live without flight?" He snapped back and got up, limbs shaking unsteadily.

"… No." Lightning muttered.

"Exactly." Bolzan walked over slowly and sniffed Lightning's arm. He could smell the tension-laced sweat on her arm.

"And being self-destructive like that isn't going to get us anywhere, you know." She drew her gunblade and, with the flat of the weapon, slapped Bolzan across the face. He took it silently, knowing that Lightning was right about the self-destructiveness.

"… Fine, I'll try to look on the bright side…" He looked down and sighed, trying to think of what could possibly be good about this situation.

"Dada…?" He looked up and saw Albida watching him carefully.

"Albida…" He sighed and nuzzled the hatchling, who giggled softly, hugging his head.

"I'm here, Dada. Don't be so sad…" Albida whispered, clinging onto Bolzan's muzzle as he pulled away.

"Looks like you've got someone who cares about you, Bolzan." Lightning smiled, something which was fairly rare, and looked at the interesting sight of the hatchling clinging onto Bolzan's snout.

"Still, it kinda sucks that I probably won't fly ever again…" He replied glumly, words muffled by the grip of the hatchling, which was nuzzling him affectionately.

"Are you sure you're Bolzan?" Lightning's expression hardened and Bolzan flinched.

"Hey, relax! Fine, fine, I won't be such a jerk." Bolzan smiled with a fair amount of difficulty, from Albida's grip, and tried to stretch his wings subconsciously.

"Gah!" he shouted in pain and gritted his fangs.

"Even so, you're still an idiot." Lightning snorted at Bolzan's pain.

"Oh, shut up will you!" He growled before flipping Albida onto his back, between his wings and neck. Albida giggled kicked Bolzan's flaks, pretending he was a horse.

"Hey! Watch it! This horse has an injury you know…" Even so, he began a horse-like canter, much to Albida's joy.

"Making a fool of yourself, even with that injury? That's more like the Bolzan I know…" Lightning shook her head and looked back at the fortress.

"We need a plan…" She mused before walking to the stone and crystal amalgamation and placing her hand onto it.

For some reason, it glowed brightly when she touched it starting with the part she touched and rippling outwards.

Bolzan, who was still cantering, stopped and looked at the bright crystal. Even Albida noticed and was looking at it in awe.

"Umm… Bolzan? Maybe you should touch it, too." Lightning suggested and he obliged, placing a paw on the crystal, causing another ripple of light.

The glow intensified and two runic circles glowed on the mountain walls that surrounded them, on opposite sides.

The circles solidified and, in their place, two gates much like the ones they had come in from had appeared.

"Sounds like you need some help, Bolzan…" Bolzan glanced around, astonished by the wispy voice. It sounded like Lazarus, oddly enough.

"You too, lightning…" This time, it sounded like Fang, making Lightning glance around as well.

"Lightning?"

"Yeah?"

"You heard that, right? I'm not going mad, am I?"

"Yeah, I heard it too…"

The gates had finally solidified onto the walls, built directly into the beige stone. They seemed fairly solid and real and, with that, the glow subsided.

They looked at each other, then to the gates.

The writings, though ancient, were understandable enough that they knew the gates were for both of them. The artwork confirmed that fact. Bolzan's gate had a dragon on it while Lightning's had the l'cie brand etched onto the massive gate doors. The runes, however, were identical, carved into the arches of the gates.

"… Help?" Bolzan echoed skeptically. "These don't even look like they're going to open…" He walked over and ran his claw over the gate. It was real, at least.

As if the gates heard his skepticism, they opened slowly, pouring shadowy tendrils from their gaping maws. Both of them leapt back from their respective gates and readied for whatever came through.

"Ughhh… where are we?"

"I have no idea…"

"Why did you have to fly into that gate, anyway?"

Lightning froze at the sound of those voices.

"Umm… Dear?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we?"

"I don't… Bolzan!"

Bolzan's eyes widened in shock when he heard those voices.

"What the…" Both of them whispered in unison.


	17. Chapter 17: Hope Renewed

Eventually, they managed to catch up with Spyro, who was standing in front of a peculiar cave deep within the woods. No words could describe the absolute darkness that flooded the interior of the cave. On the top of the arch were several roughly carved words, evidently from millennia ago.

"Spyro!" Cynder shouted as she and her kids landed nearby. He turned and, when he saw them, sighed.

"I thought I told you guys to stay at the cabin…" He looked back at the cave and its cavernous maw.

"Did you actually think we'd listen to you?" Cynder replied curtly, making their kids snigger derisively. Spyro couldn't help but laugh at this fact.

"I suppose not. Besides, I' actually glad you're here." He walked over and necked Cynder affectionately.

"So… you were about to go in there?" Neve asked as Spyro nuzzled her. He nodded in reply.

"If you're going to follow me, I'd suggest putting on your armor." In the blink of an eye, he was armored in his Lazarite equipment and, seeing that Cynder had hers as well, the kids obliged. After all, it was about time they got to use it.

And so, with their juvenile-looking armor equipped, they set off into the shadowy caverns, Spyro in the front, Cynder at the back, and the kids in the middle.

"Whoa… It's really dark in here…" Noctis whispered quietly. The deathly silence of the caves freaked him out somewhat and the impenetrable darkness only served to escalate his fears. However, he soldiered on, comforted by the presence of his family.

"Wait." Spyro whispered and they halted, just in time to avoid being crushed by a dark golem, lumbering along the caves. It paid no heed to them and merely continued its slow, ponderous path deeper into the cave system.

"What was that…?" Arashi trembled at the sight of that massive monster. Though most of its figure was obscured by the unrelenting shadows, they could tell its head was easily several meters above their own, even towering over Spyro.

"I have no idea. Let's go." Spyro whispered in reply as they continued on.

After several minutes, however, another golem walked past their path, this time approaching so silently and stealthily that it seemed to appear out of nowhere. Noctis squeaked in shock and knocked into Neve, who fell into Cynder. The golem heard this and turned its head slowly towards the consort of dragons. They froze, holding their breaths in the hope that its vision was worse than their own. The yellow orbs scanned left and right slowly and their hearts almost stopped when it settled on them. Any attacks in here might result in a cave-in and, well, that wasn't one of the most desirable outcomes from their journey into the caves.

Thankfully, it turned away after several moments and continued its way into the shadows. Cynder helped Neve and Noctis up and they continued.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Ferno asked after several more uneventful minutes.

"Trust me; I picked up a scroll from Hikari's room. It said that this was the likeliest place for all the weird readings he was getting. Also, don't tell him I took it. He'd get pretty mad." Spyro replied and continued with his skeptical family.

After several more minutes, Spyro told them to halt again.

"Another golem?" Cynder asked as she crouched, blending into the darkness.

"I don't think so…" Spyro launched a spray of fireballs across the caverns and they lit up the massive dead end they had walked into. A gate-like mechanism stood at the furthest end and they walked forwards to investigate.

It was intricately carved and showed no signs of wear and, judging from the carvings, it was pretty old. Maybe as old as Avalar, from what Cynder could deduce.

"Wonder if it opens?" Arashi leapt forwards and leaned on the gate, putting all of her miniscule weight on the stone doors.

Cynder pulled her back and admonished her with a discreet tail-smack to her bottom, making her yelp in pain as she shrank away from the gates, grumbling.

"Mom…" Arashi whined and she sat down, eyes tearing up from the stinging pain.

"I'm sorry, but it's for your own good. What if that gate swung open?" Cynder responded, nuzzling her softly and Arashi purred happily. After that, she resumed pouting.

"Maybe there's some kind of lever or… WHAT IS THAT THING?" Ferno exclaimed and fell back just as the ground opened up near the gate. A spire roe out of the ground, nearly hitting the ceiling before stopping just shy of the roof.

Spyro ran over to check whether Ferno was injured. Satisfied that he wasn't, he walked over to the spire and began checking it once again. The carvings were still there.

"Something's fishy about this…" Spyro noted as he closed in on the gate. He stroked his claw over the carving and, for some reason, the glowed for a moment before fading away slowly. Some of the carvings, however, didn't fade. They remained glowing on the gate like a code…

"Wait… This is a code, isn't it? Help me with this, guys!" Spyro exclaimed and they spent the next few minutes slowly working their claws over the writings. Apparently, only Spyro's claws made it react and the rest just helped to figure it out.

For some reason, they seemed to e able to understand the ageless words and it didn't take long to find out what it read after they lit up fully.

"The… Reunion… Of The… Forsaken… Lands…" Cynder readout slowly and her eyes widened in fear.

"It's opening!" Spyro exclaimed, watching the gates creak open slowly and heavily.

A vortex ensued, snuffing out the flames. It intensified as the gate opened further, sucking the six dragons into the abyss.

They fell through the darkness for a moment before getting their bearings and righting themselves.

By then, they were already out of the gate, into whatever lay on the other side. To their pleasant surprise, they saw Bolzan standing there, looking all hostile and injured. His expression softened when he saw them and he smiled, running over to them happily and nuzzling hem while the shy hatchling on his back hid his face from the newcomers.

* * *

><p>"Sazh!"<p>

"What?"

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Umm… Maybe?"

"Maybe?"

Snow nearly wet his pants from the speeds at which they were going at, in the Mah'habara, no less. The wingtips of the vehicle nearly touched the walls on several occasions and, at other times, Sazh had to fly on the side to get through a particularly tight gap. Serah seemed to be enjoying herself, though. So was Hope, who tagged along to get some rock samples from the Mah'habara for his project.

"Come on, man! Don't you trust me?" Sazh replied as he completed another death-defying barrel roll.

"I don't trust this freaking vehicle, Sazh!" Snow shouted angrily in reply as he was thrown about like a ragdoll. Curse his adamancy of not wearing a seatbelt.

However, even Snow had to admit that Sazh was a pretty good flier. Any other pilot would probably have died negotiating these tunnels in the quickest and nippiest of aircrafts.

"Maybe you should slow down a little, Sazh…" Serah watched Snow being thrown about the cabin and couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Sorry, Serah! Only two speeds for this deathtrap: fast and faster!" Sazh replied curtly as he pulled up to avoid a sheer wall, face a mask of concentration.

"I wonder if there'll be any new kinds of minerals here…" Hope said, feeling slightly nauseous from the sudden acceleration. He was trying to focus on the walls to keep his nausea down but, unless they stopped, he'd be throwing up all over the cockpit.

"Looking a little green there, Hope. You alright?" He nodded slowly at Sazh's inquiry, swallowing his bile at the same time. He'd never been air sick in his life, until he stepped into this craft.

"Where do we need to go?" Sazh asked Serah as he weaved between massive stalagmites and stalactites.

"I think it's just ahead, Sazh." Serah replied, flinching whenever the aircraft got a little too close to a pillar for comfort.

"Alright! Whoa, it's getting pretty dark here… turning on the lights!" The cavern lit up in the fluorescent lighting and they noticed the massive black portal a little too late, for they were already halfway through. The aircraft dissolved and they ended up hurtling through the abyss before they were stopped by a mysterious force and they floated for a moment. Eventually, they touched down on solid ground, though there was nothing that implied this fact, since it was dark all around.

By the time they found each other, they were already through to the other side. Also, miraculously, their l'cie brands had reappeared, though it was more of a horror for them.

However, the first thing they saw out of the darkness lessened their shock.

It was Lightning.

Serah ran forward and hugged her sister, embracing her warmly. Snow, Sazh and Hope stood there watching the touching sight before they noticed a lot of beasts further back. One of them was sneaking up on Lightning and Serah. It was missing a wing, from the stump that graced his back, and looked intent on attacking lightning.

"Light! Watch out!" Snow shouted, leaping forwards. She spun around and, to their surprise, stroked his head. The beast growled happily.

"Who're these? Your friends?" When it spoke, they were even more alarmed and drew their weapons. Lightning motioned to them to stop as the other beasts came over. 5 juveniles and 2 adults, from the looks of their sizes.

"You're Lightning?" The purple one said as he, from its voice, looked at them kindly and bowed.

Several introductions later, Sazh started a fire with Spyro's help as Serah and Hope played with Neve, Arashi, Noctis, Ferno and Albida. Cynder was chatting with Lightning and Snow with Bolzan. The black sun hung in the sky above them, ominously reminding them that they weren't home. Yet.

Serah happened to have a few toys and she lent it to the kids, who were playing with them happily. Albida, for one, was particularly attached to a beautiful rattle and wouldn't return it. Serah laughed and told him he could keep it, much to his joy. Hope examined their armor and asked for a sample, to which Neve agreed and handed him a small piece of Unbounded Lazarite to him, which she kept as a lucky charm but felt she didn't need it anymore.

Cynder asked Lightning about her weapon and Lightning asked her the same about her armor while the fire burned brightly.

"Are you married yet?" Cynder asked and Lightning blushed as she shook her head.

"No. I'd prefer to stay single." She replied as she fingered the tip of her gunblade, watching the gleam.

"Oh? That's a pity; you'd make a good mother, you know!" Cynder giggled and nuzzled Lightning, who blushed even harder.

"Are you blushing?"

"N-No, it's because of the fire…"

Sazh and Spyro's face were covered in soot as they looked at the decent-sized fire that roared before them and they grinned at each other.

"That is one pretty good fire, don't you think?" Spyro asked Sazh. It was then that he noticed Sazh was looking into the distance, blank-eyed.

"Sazh?" He was snapped out of his thoughts and looked back at Spyro.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you. Just thinking about my son…" Sazh looked into the fire and was surprised when Spyro wrapped a wing around him.

"Don't worry, Sazh. He'll be fine! We'll all go home, trust me!" His words cheered Sazh up and they watched the embers rise into theair.

Snow and Bolzan were showing their scars and he asked about his wing, which made Bolzan feel down again. However, he was cheered up when Snow told him about his story with Serah. Albida ran over, showing Bolzan his new toy and Bolzan kept it safe for him, in the same place he stored his weapons.

"You seem really close with him." Snow noted as he rubbed Albida's head. The hatchling purred loudly as he snuggled deeper into Bolzan's belly.

"Yeah. And you seem really close to Serah. Married yet?" Snow shook his head.

"Maybe when we get back." He replied and Bolzan congratulated him. Snow gave him a manly slap on his shoulder and Bolzan yelped from the pain his stump gave him as Snow apologised.

* * *

><p>As they slept beneath the stars, Lightning and Bolzan looked at each other and grinned.<p>

"Your family's pretty cool…" Bolzan whispered.

"Thanks. Yours too." Lightning replied and they kept quiet for a while.

"Lightning?"

"What?"

"Do you think we'll get home?"

She thought about it for a while before replying.

"Yes. We will. I'm sure of it. I'll thank Fang in my dreams…" And she fell asleep shortly after, leaving Bolzan alone with his thoughts.

"… Thank you, Lazarus…" And he, too, fell asleep, comforted by the scent of family around him.


	18. Chapter 18: POA

"So, this "Gigas"… He's some kind of god that wants to make a new world by destroying two others?"

Bolzan and Lightning nodded as the bonfire sputtered and died. As it turns out, fire wasn't very friendly with the atmosphere of the wastelands.

"Alright! Let's go and kick his face in!" Snow shouted enthusiastically. His enthusiasm was curbed by Bolzan's sword-like tail smacking him where the sun doesn't shine.

As he curled up in agony on the ground, rolling this way and that, groaning and cursing, Bolzan related the possible consequences of going against him without forethought.

"Like my wing… He tore it off when I went to fight him, like an idiot. I have no idea what he'll do to any of you but, it probably won't be fun…" He wiggled his stump as a warning towards any rash actions.

"Will you be able to fly again?" Spyro asked softly. Bolzan sighed and shook his head, cuddling Albida for comfort.

"Anybody got any better ideas?" Lightning asked as the fires died, sending acrid black smoke spiraling into the air.

"Where's the fortress?" Hope asked, deep in thought. Lightning pointed to the building in the distance, now surrounded by hundreds of spires.

"Is Gigas the only problem, right now?" Cynder asked as she snuggled up against Neve and Arashi.

"… From what he told me, he can call Shadows and, every time we kill one of them, we're bringing the worlds closer to destruction." Bolzan related what Gigas had told him before he was thrown off and crippled.

"What do they look like?"

Almost as an answer, a Stinger dived upon their camp. It was swiftly disposed of by Lightning, who cleaved it in half as it darted towards her, screeching.

"Does that answer your question? That's only one of the three possible types, as far as I know." Lightning replied as the body dissipated into wisps of darkness. The wisps slowly vanished, evidently headed back towards the fortress. At the same time, another spire was slowly rising out of the ground close to the fortress, only showing its tip.

"That was quick…" Lightning mused.

"Hmm… So they might act as magnets or conduits between the worlds?" Hope reasoned and Bolzan nodded.

"Maybe we should just smash them to pieces…" Serah suggested but Lightning denied that thought outright.

"Even so, there're hundreds of them. He'll catch wind of something before we get through a fraction of them…"

"Maybe this'll help." Sazh pulled out a small machine and waved it in the air to catch Lightning's attention.

"Where'd you get that from?" She took it and examined it. It was a mineral sampler from Sanctum, before Cocoon fell.

"I needed mineral samples so I brought one along. My dad told me it'd be alright to borrow his, as long as I returned it." Bartholomew had quite a few of these mineral samplers since, after he came down to Pulse, he developed a liking for the multitude of new minerals on Pulse. He'd actually helped most of them with their weapons, upgrading and improving them.

Lightning turned it on and the display lit up. It seemed alright and she pushed a button, making a scanner pop out from its side.

Hope handed her the Lazarite charm Neve had given him and the machine beeped a few times, scrolling out readings on the display. Most of it was scientific gibberish, which merely served to confuse Lightning, but there was a report at the end, depicting any special properties.

_Capable of making chemical and emotional bonds with an individual, changing its chemical structure when this occurs._

"Whoa… That is really cool…" Ferno gushed as he looked at the display.

"And accurate, too. That's pretty much what we use it for, right now." Bolzan added and he tried to use his armor. To his surprise, it didn't work.

"Is something wrong?" Neve asked as Bolzan tried every method possible to call forth his armor.

"I-I can't summon it…" Bolzan stuttered. To make it worse, his stump was hurting badly, like a million swords were being stabbed into it over and over again. He winced and whimpered, until the pain went away. It didn't.

Albida toddled over and licked his face, trying to comfort Bolzan. He smiled and licked him back, thanking him for his concern.

"Here, I'll use mine. Will you be alright, Bolzan?" Noctis summoned his chest armor and showed it to them, looking at Bolzan with a concerned look on his face.

"I hope so…" He replied softly, curling up on the floor.

"Aw… It'll be fine, Bolzan. Also, Albida needs a change." Neve comforted her godfather and he snickered. Albida blushed and ducked into the shade of Bolzan's other wing.

"There're diapers in the cave up there, if you don't mind." Bolzan watched her fly off towards the cave and felt a tinge of jealousy.

"So… This thing is telling me that that stone from the spire is magnetized in some way, and the crystals just serve as amplifiers. Interesting…" Hope read off from the display and, when he was done, looked back at the spire.

"Well, our only course of action would be destroying them…" Lightning said and she drew her gunblade. Spyro held her back and shook his head.

"Wait, maybe there's something I can do about it. No offense, but my being a Purple Dragon allows me to do quite a lot of things." Lightning sighed and sheathed her blade.

"So, do you have any idea how to get rid of them?" Lightning replied ad Spyro blushed, shaking his head.

Just then, Neve returned with a diaper and some other necessities for a diaper change. She handed them to Bolzan before turning to the other adults.

"Umm… I think I found something in there… There was, like, a picture of Dad or something underneath the crib. Maybe it's a clue?" Spyro looked at Cynder and nodded.

"Good job, Neve! We'll head on up there soon." Cynder congratulated Neve with a lick. She blushed and licked back.

"Thanks, Mom!" She chirped happily.

"I'll come along, Cynder. Serah, are you coming? You can rid Snow's eidolon, with Snow, if you want." Lightning called Odin and leapt onto the back of the steed. She also called the rest of her eidolons and her friends were glad to see them again.

"Stiria! Nix! Looking good, girls!" He watched the two muses dreamily and he was snapped out of his daydream be Serah, who looked annoyed.

"What? They're not as pretty as you, you know!" Snow led Serah onto Shiva and, though she was mildly disturbed by the two faces, she got over it and placed her arms around Snow's midsection.

Hope's eidolon, Alexander, seemed pretty happy to see his master again and swept Hope up into his massive arms, placing him onto his crown.

"Nice to see you too, Alexander!" Hope replied.

"Damn, Brynhildr, how you doin'?" Sazh asked the mechanical warrior. She planted her spear onto the ground and made a quick bow before turning into a racecar. Sazh hopped in, elated.

"Yeah! Let's ride!"


	19. Chapter 19: Prediction or History?

**Hey there, Readers! Sorry for the long hiatus from writing. I had stuff to attend to IRL but I'm back! Thanks for reading my stories, it really means alot to an aspiring writer! :3**

**Tell me what you think about my writing!**

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><p>Admittedly, Sazh's reaction was slightly exaggerated, since the cave wouldn't hold that many people and eidolons. As a result, Only Spyro, Cynder, Bolzan and Albida, Lightning, Serah and Snow could get up there. The rest would have to contend with staying at the bottom of the valley.<p>

Bolzan was the main problem with getting up there, owing to his missing wing, which was hurting again. He piggy-backed Spyro, blushing, and the physically older dragon flew him up with Albida, who was giggling slightly from his adoptive father's embarrassment.

The cave was more or less as they had left it and it wasn't doing the three of them any favors, bringing up nightmares they were desperate to be rid of.

The rest of them, however, were blissfully unaware of the events that transpired within these marble-like walls, merely marveling at the natural beauty of the caves.

"Ignorance is bliss, I guess…" Bolzan whispered to Lightning as he cuddled Albida, who looked terrified. She nodded in reply before heading down the pathway to the nursery.

"Dada?" Albida peeped from Bolzan's embrace.

"Yes?"

"Rattle?"

Bolzan smiled and materialized the rattle before giving it to Albida, who held it tightly. He seemed to have a fairly great attachment to the toy.

They entered the nursery. The bodies had vanished; leaving no trace of their arrival, save for the destroyed room.

Albida cuddled deeper into Bolzan's paws and shivered slightly.

Snow looked under the crib and saw some dusty markings.

"Well, whaddya know! There's something down here!" He tried to lift the crib but it was a part of the stone floor, carved directly from the rock.

"Here, let me do it." With a mighty swipe of his tail, Spyro shattered the legs and flipped the crib off, throwing dust into the air when it struck the floor.

"What is it?" Serah asked as Cynder blew the ancient dust off with some wind from her wings.

"Looks like a painting…" Cynder commented when the dust was cleared.

The carvings were in pristine condition, considering the condition they were in, and held the original colours perfectly. They depicted some unknown being astride on a throne, holding a pair of blades, fighting what looked like a dragon with a strange purple coloration.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Spyro, who was just beginning to contemplate what it meant.

"I have to fight him?" Spyro asked rhetorically as he circled the carvings. As he walked, more of the carvings were revealed when his wings and paws touched the floor until the entire ground was covered in a circular picture.

"I never saw anything when I was here…" Bolzan remarked as he circled the carvings in spite of the pain.

"Maybe it'll only reveal itself to a dragon like Spyro…" Lightning added as she knelt down to view the pictures up close. The dragon was, apparently, fighting alongside a human-like being with, to her surprise, a l'cie brand.

"So that's why Gigas was fighting Lazarus as Ignitus…" Bolzan bit his tongue when he uttered Ignitus' name but it was too late. Spyro turned and cocked his head.

"Ignitus? What happened to him?" He asked innocuously. Bolzan looked at the ground shyly, afraid to tell Spyro for fear of what might become of him.

"H-He's…"

"Likely dead." Lightning finished for him, unabashed by the truth.

"Huh? But I just saw him a while ago!" Spyro chuckled and walked over to Bolzan, who looked up in surprise. Spyro wiped away Bolzan's tears, which he hadn't known had fallen, and nuzzled him.

"He did seem pretty tired, though, and he wanted to see you about something. He didn't tell me why." Spyro looked back at the carvings in the floor, sighing.

"If I have to fight, I guess I have to fight. Who brought us here, anyway?"

Bolzan then proceeded to describe what happened for the past month or so, up till when Lazarus and Fang spoke to them.

"And that's when you guys came…" He finished, out of breath.

The dust irritated Bolzan's stump and he left the room with Albida, who was asleep, to wait for them at the ledge.

"So, you're really going to fight? You saw what he could do…" Cynder rested her head onto Spyro's neck affectionately.

"Maybe it'll be better if you let us help." Serah suggested and Spyro nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that'd be a wise idea…" Spyro muttered quietly, still looking at the pictures.

There was one that intrigued him. It depicted a dragon-human hybrid with a dragon wing and a feathered one, juxtaposed with one another. There was a small black dragon on its head, seated there calmly.

Another interesting picture was one of a pair of warriors, back-to-back. One had a bow while the other had a blade. The crystals around them were shattered and the dust was accentuated with glittering dust embedded into the paint.

Many more warriors were fighting strange, angel-like beasts which were painted black with white, glowing eyes.

Across the image, fragments of crystals lay scattered about the imaginary battlefield. They seemed to glitter and glow like the spire that stood in the valley floor.

The ending of the epic didn't look very desirable when they got there; It depicted the beast, Gigas, trumping the warriors and bringing the two worlds together in a cataclysmic event that shattered both lands, creating a new one from the dust and debris, starting the cycle over again.

Lightning walked over to the ending and, after a brief moment's consideration, blasted it into oblivion with an earth-shattering slash from her gunblade.

As the others looked at her in awe, she turned and walked out of the nursery.

"History can be rewritten by the victors." Were her last words before she left. Serah, Snow, Spyro and Cynder looked at one another before leaving, mildly confused.

By the time they got out, Lightning had already left with Bolzan and Albida. They peered over the edge to find them looking at the spire as everyone else hid a fair distance away. They glanced at each other and nodded before Bolzan swung a blade of Bifrost at the spire, leaving a massive rent on its surface, spilling blue light across the valley.

Lightning leapt and brought her gunblade down in a flash of white light, leaving another slash, making a cross on the glimmering surface. The glow intensified and Lightning delivered the final blow with a massive bolt of lightning, shattering the spire completely.

The four of them shielded their eyes from the light and, when it subsided, they went back down.

Their descent was interrupted by a haze of glowing blue particles. The swirled and shimmered in the air in perpetual motion. Bolzan and Lightning were near the crater of the spire, seemingly unfazed by the shimmering haze. They got up and walked over to the descending individuals.

"What did you just do?" Serah asked as she got off Shiva with Snow.

"I think we just made Gigas _very_angry…" Bolzan whistled happily as Albida sat on his head, having just woken up.

"Guys! If you're ready, you should go. Now." Lightning shouted out to them and they nodded, racing off towards the fortress, leaving the latecomers slightly dumbstruck.

"Why'd you do that? There're kids, you know! I'm going after them!" Cynder took off and chased them. Spyro hung back for a moment and, with a smirk, flew off, shouting.

"I don't know what you're planning, but I hope it works!"

Serah drew her bow and got back onto Shiva. The emblem on Snow's coats glowed faintly.

"You coming along?" He asked.

"In a moment." Lightning replied. Snow shrugged and rode off.

The three of them walked back to the crater and looked into it. An eerie blue glow was emanating from the smoking hole.

"Are you sure about this?" Lightning asked cautiously. Bolzan didn't reply. He wrapped Albida in his arms and, with a quick word of prayer, leapt in.

The blue light encircled them and Bolzan gritted his teeth in pain. Albida wasn't as subdued and began screaming in agony. Even so, he didn't try to struggle, as if he knew this pain was a necessity and he had to fight through it.

Suddenly, there was a searing pain in Bolzan's back and he shivered, collapsing to the ground, now upright. A metal piece was pushing itself out of the stump, causing insanely excruciating agony.

In an extremely violent convulsion, a massive metal wing unfurled from the stump and he roared as the wing extended, giving Lightning a good view of the mechanical limb.

It was made up of multiple swords forming feather-like structures in a joint-like shape made of a scythe, a spear and a short sword. It would've been a breathtaking sight, had she not seen the unfurling process.

Bolzan relaxed after that and, amazingly, stood upon his hind legs, though they were more like feet by now, with claws. He still looked distinctly dragon-like, though.

He picked up Albida, who had probably fainted, since he was very 1uiet but still visibly breathing.

The hatchling's scales had changed colors from a foresty green to an obsidian black. There were green strips on his face and horizontally across his back. His eyes, when he finally opened them, were sky-blue and his belly was gray while his horns had become white. He also had two fan-like things sticking out where his ears would've been had he been human. The membrane between them was the neon green, like his new wing membranes. He looked confused and in pain as Bolzan climbed out, clutching him to his chest.

"Umm… What happened?" Lightning asked when Bolzan got out, panting and wincing from the millions of pinpricks he felt on across his body.

"It's kinda hard to explain…" Bolzan replied as he pulled on his coat and white undershirt. He slipped on a pair of jeans and a belt as a sheathed katana materialized in his free left paw-hand… thing. It was opposable like a human's but had claws like a dragon's.

"I guess you could say it sort of… freed us. Well, at least Albida. I don't think I'm that different." He explained as simply as possible.

"So… Are you ready to go?" Lightning asked. Bolzan stretched his false wing and winced but, otherwise, it functioned well enough.

"I suppose…" He leapt and managed to fly in a slightly lopsided manner. Albida whimpered and he hovered in midair, cradling his adopted son.

"It feels so… different…" he remarked as he tried to land and walk. Walking on two legs felt foreign to him but he managed pretty well, stumbling every now and then.

"I don't know you…" Lightning muttered sarcastically.

"I know. I don't know myself, either…" he smiled before flying off, leaving Lightning behind.

She watched him fly away and, a short while later, had to pick him up because he was exhausted. She sniggered as he seethed angrily. Even Albida giggled as they headed towards the carnage at the fortress.


	20. Chapter 20: First Conflict

**Merry Christmas, Readers!**

**-Bolzan**

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><p>The fortress loomed before them and, for the first time, they got a grasp of the sheer size and magnitude that made it impossible to attack head on. They stopped short of the main gates and looked at the spires that surrounded the fortress.<p>

The sheer quantity of the spires made it near impossible to get anywhere close to the gates without a means of flight and, even so, it'd be a chore to just get over the mountainous peaks that crested the tops of the earthen amalgamations.

Black angel-like beasts patrolled the skies while many smaller ground-based creatures lurked between and on the spires, keeping a watchful eye for unwanted trespassers into their master's territory.

The fact that they even made it up to the front gates was nothing short of a miracle

"Well, then. Shall we start the carnage?" Hope asked as Alexander cracked his metallic fists in preparation.

"I-I'm scared…" Arashi whispered and Noctis nodded in agreement, walking over to his sister.

"What if it fails?" He asked in her stead. Sazh sighed and trotted over. He gave them a flick on their snouts as if to wake them up.

"Hey! Don't you trust Lightning at all? We'll be fine, kids." Sazh comforted them and they relaxed somewhat. That easygoing gait of his was infectious, to say the least.

"Alright. Let's show 'em what we're made of!" Ferno roared as best as he could before swinging a flame coated tail at a spire, leaving a gash in the rock. Neve pounded the ground with her front and her own icicles radiated out from the ground towards the weakened spire. When they made contact, the spire shattered into a million fragments, leaving nothing but a glowing crater in its wake.

"Hey, kid! Leave the smashing to us, alright?" Sazh shouted as Brynhildr slashed a spire once, causing it to shatter instantaneously. Ferno snorted and continued smashing the spires of his own accord, even at Neve's cautionary words. His sister sighed and smacked her paw to her face before chasing after him.

Arashi and Noctis, on the other hand, were more than willing to assist Sazh and Hope, owing to their young age. Arashi clung onto Brynhildr's helmet while Noctis sat atop Alexander's crown as they helped fend off several smaller assailants, leaving the heavy-duty work to the immensely powerful eidolons.

"Ferno! Slow down! You're going to get hurt if you keep it up, you idiot!" Neve shouted to her cocky brother, who was fighting off the monsters on his own.

"Relax, sis! I'll be fine! They're not that tough, you know!" He roared back playfully as he brained another Stinger with his tail. It collapsed to the ground and vanished in a puff of shadowy essence which flowed in a thin ribbon towards the top of the fortress, unfazed by the roaring winds that encircled the structure.

However, Ferno's cockiness got the better of him and, in a moment of inattention, a Crawler struck him on his back, pinning him to the ground. Its mandibles clicked furiously and was about to deliver the killing blow to the young drake when it stopped in midair with an icicle through its abdomen. It let out a sickening death rattle before vanishing into a dark mist.

"I told you!" Neve reprimanded her brother angrily as she helped him up.

"I-I could've fought him off, you know!" He replied cockily, sparing a glance at the sheer number of enemies that surrounded them.

"If you die, I'm gonna get a huge scolding from Mom!" She glared at him angrily before attacking a lunging Stinger with an ice enhanced paw.

"Same here!" He grinned and stabbed his tail forwards, impaling an Arbalest's living ammunition.

Neve chuckled as she helped her brother fight off their enemies, hoping their parents would be here soon.

"You alright up there?" Hope asked Noctis. He nodded before launching shadowy blades at several leaping Crawlers, slicing them to shreds.

"I'm fine! Behind you!" Noctis shouted. Hope spun around just in time and shifted to his Ravager paradigm, slashing at the Stinger with his boomerang laced with ribbons of fire, incinerating it where it stood.

A bullet whizzed past Hope's head and he barely flinched as another barrage zinged past, eradicating the monsters that had been sneaking up on him.

Sazh combined his pistols into a rifle and continued firing into the veil of air Arashi had conjured up, lending his bullets astonishing accuracy as they found their mark over and over again.

"When's Bolzan coming?" Arashi asked as Sazh reloaded.

"I have no idea, kid." He replied before firing once again. The bullet went a little close to Arashi's head than she wanted and she flinched, letting the winds drop by accident.

"H-Hey! Watch it!" She whimpered as another hail of bullets went flying in seemingly random directions.

"Sorry!" He replied before focusing his attention to the surging hordes.

They had gotten through a few of the spires when the Angels joined the fray. With the addition of flying enemies, the fight was made considerably harder, even if the four dragons could fly.

Ferno and Neve had it the hardest, since they were alone. Though they put up an admirable fight, it was only a matter of time before they got overrun and were pinned down by a Crawler. Their bravery had left them and now they were as helpless as a pair of new hatchlings as they struggled to escape their grip.

"Get off of them!" They heard familiar roar followed by an intense blast of heat that forced them to shut their eyes. When the heat subsided a fraction of a second later, the enemies were gone with nothing but charcoal-black marks on the ground.

"Dad!" Ferno shouted, whipping his head around to greet the armored figure. The armor moved as if he was heaving a sigh of relief and he wrapped his wings around them protectively.

"I'm glad you're alright…" He panted before tightening his grip suddenly. They caught a brief glimpse of a storm of blades outside his protective wings, dark and shadowy as the night, slicing up an oncoming horde of Angels.

"What're you doing so far away from the others?" Cynder asked her kids as she nuzzled them comfortingly, though she was furious.

"It's a long story…" Ferno began.

"It had to do with you, didn't it?" Cynder guessed and he dropped his head sheepishly. Cynder sighed and shook her head in disappointment, though a smile still crested her snout.

"I'm sorry…" He groveled but Cynder wasn't having any of that. She spanked him on his bottom with her tail. Hard. He yelped and fell forwards clumsily, rubbing his stinging bottom as Spyro flipped him onto his back.

"That'll teach you a lesson." He chuckled before taking to the air.

"Wait, what about the others?" Neve asked, stifling a giggle at her brother's misfortune. He glared at her angrily.

"They'll be alright, Neve. And you would've been, too, if you'd stuck with them!" Cynder spoke those words warmly but it still made Neve hang her head in shame.

"Is your butt alright, Ferno?" Cynder asked carefully and her son nodded, still in pain from the stinging blow.

"Look! There they are!" Neve exclaimed. By now, they had realized how far away from the main group they were.

"Looks like Snow and Serah made it in time…" Spyro noted admirably.

Snow leapt off Shiva and pounded the ground, sending massive stalagmites bursting through the earth, impaling multiple enemies at once. Serah leapt atop the rocks and fired volleys of arrows into the oncoming hordes as Snow fought them off with his bare fists, occasionally firing off large orbs of wind that exploded into tornadoes, circling the pair.

Serah fired an arrow into the air and it barely missed the dragons flying overhead. From Cynder's view, she saw the arrow split into heavy fragments before they plummeted to the ground, flaming from the friction. They fell into the winds and were scattered in all directions as Snow leapt up, covering Serah with his armored coat. With the route cleared, they exchanged a quick kiss before riding off towards Sazh, Hope, Arashi and Noctis.

All of them met up with one another after a short while, save for Lightning and Bolzan, and had to hold off another onslaught shortly after.

Outside the near impenetrable wall of crystals, Lightning, Bolzan and Albida arrived at the site.

"So, let me get this straight… You're better because of the crystal dust but you've been weakened while Albida is back to normal?" Lightning confirmed with Bolzan and he shrugged.

"Eh, close enough." He replied before getting off the horse. Albida was seated atop his head and was watching Bolzan curiously. Lightning noted that the "wings" were more like fins on the side of his head. Also, the strange eye was gone.

Bolzan looked at the katana. It had a rifle attached to the hilt, aiming forwards, and the entire blade was fairly long, longer than Lightning's gunblade. He swung it experimentally and lost memories came flooding back into his mind. He couldn't tell f these were his own but, suddenly, he knew how to use this weapon to its fullest potential with techniques lost through the ages.

He sheathed the blade and held it in his left hand, placing the handle in his right. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, crouched slightly.

"Fifth Wind: Shadow Pulse." He muttered under his breath. The hilt burst into black flames and he slashed once, faster than the eye could register.

There was a moment's silence before a million phantom blades slashed in perfect sync, destroying dozens of crystals in an instant.

Lightning's eyes widened and Albida squeaked in shock as Bolzan stood back up, left eye burning with black flames through the eye patch. He turned to Lightning as the flames dissipated

"Shall we proceed, my lady?" He smiled warmly before taking to the air. Lightning snapped out of her shock and raced to catch up on Sleipnir.

Bolzan turned back to look at lightning and he slowed down to think about what he had seen in those memories. They felt so real, as if they were a missing fragment to his memory. It seemed to fit in to the blank spots in his mind, filling it with enlightening darkness.

Albida looked at Bolzan and he looked back. Considering the change in his body, maybe the memories he had were also incomplete. He placed a paw over Albida's head and whispered a few archaic words. The hatchling's memories flooded his mind and he gasped, nearly falling out of the sky.

"T-That's impossible…" He muttered shakily just as Lightning caught up.

"You alright, Bolzan?" She asked as she slowed to a trot.

"Y-Yeah, just fine…" He replied, unwilling to believe what he had seen in Albida's hidden subconscious.

"Dada? I'm scared…" Albida whimpered, hugging him around his neck. Bolzan sighed and nuzzled his son.

The crystals had certainly freed him but, in doing so, had unlocked several horrible secrets about Albida's past, like his strange coloration and fuzzy past; all were revealed when they leapt into the crater.

What would Spyro and Cynder make of the hatchling now?

Would they accept him?

Would they shun him?

Most importantly, what would Bolzan do?

Suddenly, a sharp clarity cut through his mind and he made a decision: He'd stand by Albida o the end.

"Don't worry, I'm here… Dada'll keep you safe, alright?" He whispered to Albida, who nuzzled back and nodded.

"I'll keep you safe…"


	21. Chapter 21: Late Arrival

"What're the odds of us actually surviving?" Snow asked, slamming a pouncing Crawler to the ground.

"I dunno… Let's see… 10 of us versus an unlimited number of them… Of _course_ we'll win, Snow…" Hope replied sarcastically before firing a fireball into the midst of several Angels. It detonated into a massive inferno, destroying a few of the flying abominations. The rest, however, merely darted through the black smoke, watching their prey with cold, lifeless eyes.

They were, thankfully, swiftly brought down with several well-placed bullets and arrows.

"Where's Bolzan, anyway?" Ferno asked irritably as he swept his burning tail, arcing several fiery orbs into his targets.

"Well, he'd better be coming soon! We're not going to survive like this…" Spyro grumbled. An enterprising Stinger tried to get Spyro from behind and he whipped up his armored wings just in time to deflect the Stinger's poisonous barb. While it was stunned, Spyro blasted it to kingdom come with several swift electrical blows from his tail.

Suddenly, Neve paused and jerked her head around as if searching for something.

"What is it, Snowflake?" Cynder asked as Neve squinted her eyes into the distance. Seeing her like this made Cynder smile slightly. Her daughter really took after her, somewhat. She'd always entertained the thought of having another clutch or even adopting an abandoned egg, just to see how each of her kids might react to a young hatchling, curious to the world, readily wanting to bond with the first being they saw in their wide, innocent eyes.

As she fought, she wondered about the bonds her kids had made, not just with the two of them and each other. Inappropriate as it was in the heat of battle, she let her mind wander for a moment.

From what she'd heard from her own mother, who was safe and sound back at Avalar, hatchlings made subconscious bonds with whatever they saw at hatching, not just their parents. Bonds with parents were made in the egg while other caretaker bonds were made shortly after hatching.

At their hatching, she hadn't really thought about bonding and all that nonsense, simply glad that her clutch was alright. However, with their growing up, she couldn't help but notice some little quirks about her kids.

Ferno, for example, was really brash and could be quite arrogant at times. However, he had always placed his family before others, much like Spyro. When they'd first met, she didn't really like him all that much and it was only later that she managed to look past the slightly brash exterior to see the kind dragon that resided within.

Neve, on the other hand, could be fairly analyzing and sharp, though this had gotten her into her fair share of troubles as well. Bolzan was remarkably similar to the calm little dragoness, often taking the time to plan out tasks, even things as mundane as gathering food. It was, suffice to say, slightly annoying in most of their eyes. Except for Neve.

Noctis was shy and quiet. His demeanor made him hard to approach, since he would often hide behind his mother, blushing whenever a stranger tried to talk to him. Deep inside, however, he could be a little cynical and sarcastic, though in a friendly way. Now that she thought about it, she was quite a lot like that, preferring to shy away or snap at others thanks to the atrocities she had committed early on in her life, which she still regretted, albeit ever so slightly.

Arashi was a little tornado in the house, bounding everywhere with seemingly inexhaustible energy. She was even able to get over the hatchling-safe precautions Spyro and Cynder had placed in the nursery when they were able to walk with a few clumsy hops! Even though Cynder was pretty mad and admonished the adventurous hatchling with several light tail spanks, she was, at the same time, proud of her daughter. Similarities to Hunter could be seen in her like her love of heights and acrobatic ability that surpassed several more experienced Wind dragons at the temple. She was also somewhat of a rebel but she had never meant any harm.

Her little soiree with her memories was interrupted by a pair of fangs embedding themselves into her flank. She roared and blasted the Crawler off with a razor-sharp blade of wind. She turned to look at the bite marks on her flank. They were oozing little rivulets of blood like cranberries and it stung like mad.

"Cynder!" She looked up at Spyro's voice. He was carrying Hope on his back and he nuzzled his mate comfortingly.

"Is it alright?" He asked softly as they nuzzled. She nodded as she felt a tingling warmth over the wounds.

"Don't worry, she'll be alright. You're really lucky, Cynder, their fangs are extendable…" Cynder shuddered at the thought. She had realized how close it was to her heart and several other vital organs. If the fangs had extended…

She shook that thought from her mind, literally, and continued fighting.

The enemies kept coming, an unstoppable torrent flowing over several stones. It'd only be a matter of time before they were overrun. It began with Spyro getting slashed by an Angel's blade and it all went downhill from there…

One by one, they were defeated in a span of several minutes until only Serah and Neve were able to fight. The rest of their friends and family lay unconscious nearby, alive but incapacitated.

"Well, well… looks like you're in a spot of trouble, aren't you?" Neve sniffled and glanced up, wiping away helpless tears she had no idea she had shed.

"Serah. Shouldn't you be doing a better job of protecting the littler one?" Serah glanced up as well but shielded her eyes again, along with Neve's, as a burst of light shattered the very sky itself.

When she opened them again, the surrounding area was almost entirely cleared of adversaries, though more would soon arrive.

She was right.

Within moments, many more Crawler and Stingers burst forth from the ground as squads of Angels descended upon them, disturbingly silent.

Two figures landed right next to the two exhausted fighters, one with its face obscured by a dark hood while the other, with its pink hair, was instantly recognizable.

"Light!" Serah cried out. Lightning turned her head and smiled gently.

"Hello, Serah."

"I'm sorry to interrupt but could we focus on the more pressing matters at hand, Lightning?" The cloaked figure grumbled light-heartedly as it crouched down, placing his other hand on the handle of the katana, finger in the trigger guard of the attached rifle. Its metallic feathered wing rattled in the soft breeze, sounding like hundreds of minute swords clashing on the battlefield.

The cloak rustled and a little snout poked out. In spite of the cloaked figure's persuasion, the snout probed its surroundings before a little black hatchling's head popped out from the presumed chest area. It looked at Neve and cocked its head to the side quizzically, as if trying to recall who it was. Neve cocked her head the other way and it followed with a chirp.

"… Albida?" Neve whispered and the hatchling hopped out, cantering happily over to Neve. Of course, being a young dragon, it tripped over its tail and tumbled head over heels to Neve, bumping into her forelimbs.

"Nev'!" He squeaked happily and Neve giggled. His young vocal inflections never failed to amuse her. She nuzzled and flipped him right side up and he hugged her snout, strangely bipedal.

The cloaked figure didn't have time to turn around: An Angel had just lunged from in front of them towards the four of them.

The weapon was slashed impossibly quickly and the Angel froze in midair, encased in a block of enchanted ice. It fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces.

That set off the rest of them to attack and Serah tried to coax the two of them to run.

"Nah." They replied in near unison, weapons at the ready.

"But you'll die if you fight them all!" Neve shouted at them worriedly as the horde neared.

The cloaked figure made a small gesture and the unconscious fighters sank into the ground, only to reappear a safe distance away, much to Serah and Neve's relief.

Lightning slashed once and a path cleared towards the safe haven, lit with shining flares.

"Serah. Just go, alright?" Lightning stroked her sister's hair, something which was very rare. Through teary eyes, she nodded and beckoned to Neve, who spared a final glance to the two of them. She, too, was tearing up.

"You… You'd better make it out alive!" Neve blubbered before leaving with Serah. Albida, on the other hand, stood there adamantly. The cloaked figure tried to get the stubborn hatchling to go with the others. He shook his head and ran forwards, clinging onto the cloaked figure's leg.

"No! I wanna fai' wif' you!"

The cloaked figure sighed and picked up the hatchling, nuzzling him.

"You're not going to leave, are you?" The cloaked figure asked patronizingly and Albida shook his head, hugging the cloaked figure's head.

"I not gonna leave Dada!" Albida tightened his grip and the hood fell, revealing a white dragon's head.

Bolzan sighed and placed his son onto his head, telling him to hold on tight. Albida obliged and clung onto his horns with all his might.

Something about the word "son" made Bolzan feel morbidly afraid. He still couldn't shake the memories he had seen in Albida's mind. Sure, he would be alright with it and love the hatchling as always but, would the other dragons?

Most importantly: Would Spyro and Cynder still accept the two of them?

He pushed the thought temporarily to the back of his mind and focused on the oncoming beasts.

"What do you think the odds are that we'll live?" Bolzan asked, running a claw across the familiar, yet strangely foreign, blade.

"2 of us versus millions of them? Definitely." Lightning replied with such finality that Bolzan snorted.

"Sarcasm?" He caressed his katana, lighting it with black and crimson flames.

"Nope." Her gunblade lengthened and glowed with a holy light.

Gigas watched from the heavens with an Angel hovering above the action.

"Fools." He snorted derisively, looking at the black-and-red katana with a disgusted eye.

"That looks familiar…"


	22. Chapter 22: Twin Reckoning

The onslaught was disturbingly silent as the shadowy creations converged upon the two warriors and the hatchling. Eyes carrying nothing but burning emptiness, they fixated their collective gaze on the renewed hunt.

Bolzan and Lightning stood back to back as they stared down their numerous foes. Nonchalantly, Bolzan took off his eye patch and opened his left eye, revealing his stigmatic symbol.

"So, any plans?" Bolzan asked calmly, checking the rifle on his katana for ammo.

"Distract them until the rest wake up." Lightning replied, readying her gunblade. It glimmered as she coursed beams of magic through the runes that lined the flats of the blade, manifesting a shining white aura around the holy metal.

"Okay… Anything more precise than that?" He flipped the cartridge back in and a multitude of small shadowy blades popped out from the hilt, rotating slowly about the hybridized weapon. Bolzan fired an experimental shot into the crowd, nailing an Angel in the head with a bolt of darkness. One of the small blades vanished into oblivion, leaving an empty gap where it once was.

"No." Lightning raised her gunblade above her head and held the handle with both hands. In a swift motion, she separated the blade, fragmenting it into two uneven halves. The halves shone and reformed into two separate weapons: a rifle and a short falchion.

He sighed and glanced over his back.

"We haven't thought this through yet, have we?"

"Nope."

"… I hate you."

"It's not like you're any more likable."

Bolzan snorted and turned back. They were dangerously close now and he realized that Albida was panicking a little. His heart was pounding rapidly and his breathing was fast and erratic. The part of the diaper that was in contact with Bolzan's neck also felt soggy. Albida was terrified out of his wits, as far as Bolzan could tell, and he lifted the hatchling off his head into a cuddle.

"I don't think you'll be able to fight like that." Lightning noted quietly. Bolzan swung his sheathed katana and the sheath flew off, impaling a Stinger in the abdomen before vanishing.

"Yeah, I don't think there'll be a problem. Shall we?"

"Whatever."

A Crawler leapt forwards towards Lightning and she sliced it in half with her falchion before firing through the essence that was hanging in the air. The storm of bullets kept her side at bay as she leapt forwards, reloading her rifle, barely raising an eyebrow when she was nearly impaled by an enterprising Angel.

Bolzan, on the other hand, had to contend with a squirming and frightened hatchling, making it nigh on impossible for him to get anywhere quickly.

"Albida?"

Albida glanced up for the briefest of moments before ducking back into the crook of Bolzan's arm.

"Please don't hate me for this…" Bolzan sighed and swiftly tossed Albida into the air.

Considering the fact that he only had a couple of seconds before Albida fell, he planted his katana into the ground and placed his left hand on the handle.

"1st Wind: Black Snow…" The moment he uttered those words, he grabbed the blade with his right hand and swung it outwards, sending lines of ice shooting across the ground, forming an elaborate black snowflake pattern. Time froze and Bolzan slashed twice in both directions, front and back.

Time resumed and flaming chains burst forth from the snowflake, impaling the massive tracts of enemies that had surrounded him. He stretched out an arm and promptly caught Albida gently.

"You alright?" He asked the shocked hatchling. Albida nodded and nearly passed out. He draped Albida over his left shoulder and let him rest as the chains retracted into the ground and the snowflake vanished.

"Sorry, kid. Take a break, alright?" Albida made a soft retching sound and promptly threw up. Strangely, the bile was bright green and it ate through the earth, sizzling as it made its way into the bowels of the white land. A little bit of the liquid was still dripping from Albida's jaws and he was sobbing painfully.

"A Poison dragon?" Bolzan wondered aloud as he patted Albida's back tenderly before focusing his attention back to his opponents.

"Is he alright?" Lightning fell from the heavens and landed heavily, throwing up a blossom of dust. She seemed unhurt as she reloaded her rifle and checked her enchanted falchion.

"Not really…" Bolzan remarked as he parried a projectile from an Arbalest, fragmenting it into hundreds of shards.

The poison was still dripping from Albida's jaws as he wailed loudly. Bolzan tried to use his free hand to wipe away the green fluids but drew back quickly when it burned his flesh.

Albida coughed and a glob of acidic poison launched out of his jaws. Bolzan barely dodged it and a few drops landed on his clothes, burning holes through the shadow-laced cloth. The Crawler, unfortunately, wasn't as lucky. It caught the glob full on in the mandibles and dissolved from the inside out.

"Whoa…" Bolzan gaped as Albida sniffled. The poison had stopped flowing and Albida didn't seem to be in pain anymore, though there were still a few droplets hanging from his blunt hatchling fangs.

Albida wiped away a tear clumsily and sneezed. Quickly, Bolzan held him outwards, pointing him towards the hordes. A fine mist of poison burst outwards, dissolving the Angels and Stingers that were charging them.

Albida rubbed his red snout and looked up at the dying enemies.

"D-Did I do t-that?" Albida stammered before Bolzan shielded him from the thunderstorm Lightning had called right in front of them.

"Yes. Why?" Bolzan whispered, stabbing a leaping Crawler numerous times in rapid succession.

Even now, Bolzan could tell that Albida was on the verge of tears again. After firing and reloading his rifle, he tucked Albida into his cloak, nestling the hatchling in one of the larger pockets, hugging the juvenile dragon warmly.

"A-Am I-I a…" Before Albida could finish the sentence, Bolzan shushed him and sliced another enemy in half.

"No, you are definitely not a monster, Albida. You're my ward, my son, and nothing will ever change that, understand? Besides, it's just your element manifesting. Try not to throw up into my cloak, alright?" Albida was comforted by those words and nodded slightly before falling into a deep sleep, cradled between Bolzan's comforting warmth and the soft fabric, trying to ignore the rumbling in his belly.

Bolzan didn't have the time to reply as he was fighting a new enemy. It was simply massive and muscular with spider-like appendages sprouting out of its back. Its face crudely resembled a dragon and its yellow eyes glowed with rage as it brought down an axe at least thrice as large as Bolzan himself.

Lightning, too, had her own problems. She was facing off against a winged beast, far larger than anything she had ever seen in this realm, nearing the size of a mountainous Adamantoise. Its wings were easily as large as houses and every beat sent squalls of wind rushing across the ground. The tip of its tail ended in a massive spiked bludgeon which swung menacingly at Lightning as she strove to dodge the lesser enemies.

"Wanna switch, Lightning?" Bolzan shouted as he cartwheeled away, slicing at the hand a few times before ducking as it swung its massive fist.

Without another words, Lightning flipped away from the flying monstrosity, landing next to Bolzan. He took this as his cue and leapt into the air, facing his new opponent in his element.

The first thing he realized was the awkwardness of his wings adjusting to his newly bipedal form. The metal wing also took some getting used to as he ducked and weaved through the air clumsily, avoiding the bolts of darkness that emanated from the beast's wings with every flap.

Lightning, on the other hand, found her enemy much easier, since they were both flightless. She twirled away from an axe blow and fired several shots into its chest. The monster recovered from the momentum and aimed another blow at Lightning.

"Army of One, Mark II." She declared and launched into a flurry of attacks, alternating between gunshots and sword slashes, both weapons aglow with shining auras. Within moments, she had carved the monstrosity up nicely and, with a final cross slash, it was felled.

By now, Bolzan had regained full control of his wings and was flitting about easily, rolling out of the way of his opponent's attacks and diving whenever he needed a breather and to check on Albida, who was, amazingly, still fast asleep. And giggling, to boot.

In spite of the danger, Bolzan still smiled a little. He looked so adorable with that little playful grin.

He looked away from the cute scene and focused his attention on the flying monster, which he dubbed "Wyvern".

"Okay, Wyvern. Let's end this, alright?" Bolzan received a roar as an answer and it dashed towards Bolzan.

Calmly, he held his katana in front of his snout and rested his forehead onto the blunt side.

"8th Wind: Frozen Judgement…" He whispered into his blade, which shone brightly in response.

He lifted the blades above his head and, just before he was bitten into half by the Wyvern, he brought the blade downwards.

The Wyvern froze in midair and the two halves slowly slid apart, shattering upon contact with the ground.

Bolzan landed amidst the flurry of ice and saw Lightning running over.

"Are you done yet, Light?" Bolzan waved. Lightning waved back. She was running faster now.

"What's the rush?" Bolzan shouted to Lightning, confused at her hurried posture. Astonishingly, she drew her rifle and Bolzan started.

"… Gigas…"

He caught that single word and spun around.

The last thing he saw was four blades headed towards his head and chest, poised to impale him where he stood.


	23. Chapter 23: Retaliation

In the blink of an eye, Bolzan's metal wing flashed up and deflected the blades, sending them flying haphazardly in a wide arc around him. Astonishingly, they boomeranged back almost immediately, spinning ferociously from the impact as they made their way to Bolzan's throat.

With no other option, he ran, taking to the air after a few wide strides. The swords pursued him endlessly as he darted about, tailing him closely.

"Banish!" He yelled in Dragonics, firing rays of gray light at the blades. They bounced off harmlessly, dissipating in the rapidly rotating edge.

He searched his mind for any other spells he could utilize. Nothing came up in his adrenaline-addled mind and he swore loudly, glancing back at the weapons. They were getting too close for comfort now, edges barely nicking his tailtip.

"LIGHTNING!"

Just then, he heard a soft whisper and his metal wings seized up, sending him plummeting to the ground, flapping his single wing in a futile effort to stay aloft. It only managed to send him into a dizzying spin and he slammed into the ground, cradling the cloak to soften the impact on Albida, who had awoken with a start before beginning to cry.

Coughing from the dust, he tried to get up but was mercilessly skewered to the ground by the blades. He could feel the ancient evil magic pulsing through the swords, humming steadily to the rhythm of his fading heartbeat. Panting, he tried to extricate the blades from his shoulders. The two other blades were holding his wings in place, like a butterfly in an exhibit.

Albida had stopped his crying fit and was fretting over Bolzan's injuries, looking very distressed.

He raised his hand to stop Albida and tell him to get away but they were impaled by several more blades, making him look like he was crucified to the ground. His legs kicked in agony and Albida was crying again, telling Bolzan to get up.

Just then, an ominous shadow loomed overhead and the two dragons barely had the time to react before they were smashed over the heads, blacking out instantly. Blood trickled from their nigh shattered skulls as the figure enveloped them in shadow, sending them to parts unknown.

Lightning heard Bolzan's cry and hurried over, slicing hundreds of Crawlers with each slash of her gunblade. When she got there, all that was left was a rather large bloodstain. The entire area reeked of evil energy, seeping into her armor and crawling beneath her flesh.

A little glint of white caught her eyes and she realized it was a scale. Another smaller black one lay nearby, both slick with gore on one side.

Suddenly, she lashed out with her blade and heard a surprised yelp. She turned to see Arashi on the verge of tears as the long blade hovered right next to her jugular.

"Oh. It's just you." Lightning sheathed her sword, giving the dragon a pat on her head before heading off towards the castle.

"Whit! Where're you going?" Arashi chased after Lightning but was held back by some sort of invisible force field. It chilled her soul and she backed off with a whimper.

"Saving that idiot Godfather of yours." She replied casually before getting engulfed in a wave of darkness.

"Dad!" Arashi landed next to her father and collapsed, panting and sobbing.

"Arashi! What happened, Dear?" He nuzzled his daughter and let her use his snout as a support.

She couldn't speak, so Spyro had no choice but to give up asking his distraught daughter. He told her to rest with the rest of them and to talk to her mother when it was more convenient before flying off to inspect the area thoroughly.

The monsters had suddenly stopped spawning, catching them all of guard when they vanished into puffs of darkness. Arashi had been the first to get up and had already headed off to find Bolzan and Lightning.

Something had evidently gone wrong.

Very, VERY wrong.

As he flew above the white landscape dotted with dead trees, the castle still loomed ominously close by, surrounded by crystals. The crystal maze had lessened after the onslaught and Hope had brought along a portable camp, which was fairly comfortable once it was fully built. Everyone was resting within, some worse off than the others, but everyone was getting better.

All except for Bolzan and Lightning, whom Spyro didn't see. Though Neve and Serah told them that they'd arrived, none of them managed to get a good glimpse of the two of them.

On silent wings, he soared through the sky, scanning the land for sign of the two of them. He nearly fell out of the sky when a loud roar shattered his mind. It continued for a while and Spyro had to land, disconcerted and confused. When he shut his eyes, Spyro could feel the saw blades hacking into his forepaw, the cool wash of healing magic, and another round of torture. It was then that he realized that it wasn't Bolzan who was feeling this. He was right in front of him, tied to a rack.

It was Albida who was being subjected to this torture.

With a gasp, Spyro opened his eyes, inhaling thick clouds of dust that immediately set him coughing. The screams didn't stop and he staggered about aimlessly, wishing for the pain to stop.

Suddenly, a deep, guttural growl penetrated his thoughts.

"How do you like it, Purple Dragon? Are you savouring the feeling of steel tearing into flesh?" It guffawed loudly, sending echoes into the deepest reaches of Spyro's thoughts. He could hear Albida's screams in the background along with Bolzan's own tortured cries that morphed into sobs.

"Get out of here, Spyro!" He heard Bolzan shout, followed by the winding of a drill. "Save youselfARRRGRGGGH!" Spyro heard the drill dig into flesh, splintering bones, tearing muscles as Bolzan roared.

"I hope to see you soon, Legend." Gigas growled as Albida sobbed in the shadows.

He woke up, sheltered by the makeshift tent. Silence flooded the room as he noticed everyone looking at him awkwardly.

"I-I saw…" Spyro sputtered out awkwardly, only to be softly shushed by Cynder.

"We heard everything, Spyro. Just rest…" She lay Spyro back down on the bed.

"Oh god…" He curled up on the bed and shivered. Before he fell asleep, he asked Cynder how were the kids, Arashi in particular.

"They're fine, Spyro. Just fine." She curled up next to him and, comforted by the warmth, Spyro soon fell asleep.

"Heh. That reminds me of my Mom, when I was younger…" Hope sighed as he recalled his late mother. It had been such a long time ago, but it still plagued him to this day. As he reminisced of his mother's cooking, he heard Sazh shout.

"SERAH!" Sazh shouted out into the wasteland. "Dammit, she left to find Lightning. Snow! Can't you take control of your girl?"

Snow stirred and looked around. Noticing Serah was gone, he chuckled and lay back down.

"Relax, Sazh. She'll be fine. Within seconds, he was asleep as well. The sky flashed into darkness, a signal the day cycle had ended. Sazh sighed and retired to bed as well. He passed by Spyro and Cynder's room. The four younger ones were curled up next to their parents and, much to his surprise, Hope was in the middle of the pack.


	24. Chapter 24: Awaking the Centuries

Books older than the dawn of time disintegrated with each step Lightning took in the disheveled library she had landed in. The once grand ornate pillars were shattered and the ageless tomes had been scattered far and wide across the cracked marble panels. Row upon row of shelves had been knocked over like fallen soldiers.

Silently, Lightning sheathed her blade and coughed, sending dust clouds swirling through the air. They danced and flowed on unseen currents, weaving out of the warrior's path as she proceeded deeper into the bowels of the castle.

Her steps echoed off the ruined draperies and shattered banisters as she made her way to the ivory steps that were just ahead.

The trip in hadn't been comfortable, per se, but she got in anyway. In a storm of black feathers she landed in the ancient library upon a mountain of tomes easily as tall as a mansion. Strange creatures of the night, smaller than her own fingernail, scuttled away anxiously at her arrival, hiding and burrowing deeper into the mountain of articles.

Gigas clearly wasn't a book lover.

Slowly, she ascended the gleaming white steps, miraculously untouched by the particles that floated so freely, clogging up the air.

With every step, the library around her shifted, showing random images from her and Serah's past. Shared memories, and ones unknown to her, intermingled in a confusing maelstrom of emotions and thoughts. Undeterred, she pressed on and made it up to the top of the grand stairway. A map hovered upon a pedestal blacker than the night itself and she cautiously picked it up.

"Stairway of Lost Dreams? Tomes of the Forgotten? How weird…" She thought to herself as she made her way further down the hallway that loomed ahead. Something unpleasant was back there, she was certain. After all, it was labeled, "Auditorium of Insanity".

She wasn't wrong.


End file.
